


It all started at a club

by Sunnyqueen



Series: Club!AU [1]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Child Abandonment, Child Abuse, Club!AU, Harry Potter References, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Insecurity, M/M, Mentions of the Millenium Earl, Out of Character, Poker, Rare Characters, Rare Pairings, Rimming, Self-Esteem Issues, Violence, because there's no DGM without poker, harry potter nerds, mentions of an accident
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-02-11 13:54:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 98,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12936675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunnyqueen/pseuds/Sunnyqueen
Summary: "Can I ask you something very crazy?" The DJ blinked at that, confused. Something crazy? Sure, he liked crazy, but he had no idea what kind of crazy his lover meant; they had never had a problem when it came down to kinks and sex in general and strange topics to talk about, so what could he be talking about to ask him permission?





	1. Chapter 1

Kanda was the smarter of the two on this occasion.

He had been smart and didn’t succumb to Lenalee’s insistent invitation to go with her to one of the most exclusive clubs in the city, but he was a sucker to see the girl smile, she was almost family to him, and so, because of his inability to basically deny her anything, he was now stuck in the most exclusive club he had ever gone to, listening to all this stupid pop songs blast the speakers and the people yell at each other so they could be heard or yell at the bar-woman, who didn’t seem to be affected at all by their mean and usually sexual comments.

“Move over usagi.” He looked at his side and discovered the very same person he was praising seconds ago.

“Yuu? What are you doing here?” He asked as he shuffled to the side, letting the Japanese sit by his left, where he could see him. “I thought you said you weren’t coming.”

“I wasn't going to, but she said she’d tell Komui I cheated on the Chemistry test.” He grumbled. “And what the fuck is this shitty music?”

“Like I’d know.” He picked up his drink and downed it in one go, feeling the burn in his throat.

“Lavi! Kanda!” They both turned to see their girl best friend before she hugged them too. “Do you like it? This club is the number one choice to go out in London by different magazines!” She told them.

Lavi surveyed the area: the walls were all black with dark purple and bright violet patterns, mostly butterflies, cards and candles with a pointy end. Weird, but it somehow worked. The ceiling was high and where lamps from different sizes hang from.

The local was circular: the bar was in the middle with stools, surrounded by booths and tables with their respectives chairs and the dance floor covered the rest of the local, with some sofas by the wall. There was a platform that led from the entrance to the bar and the dance floor. There were two doors on one side, one read 'Staff only' while the other supposedly lead to the VIP area, as it read 'VIP'. On the other side there was another one that Lavi guessed was were the DJ was since there was none to be seen.

The only thing Lavi would complain about, was the lack of hot, interesting guys. All he could see was guys who spent way too many hours pampering in the gym and the hairdresser, all working to be perfect and catch any girl they set their eyes on. Most of them weren’t even good looking, they just had good muscles, some of them not even that.

They reminded him of all the gang from that Jersey Shore crap. Why would people watch that when they had Discovery Channel?

“Is either of you two going to dance with me?’’ Lenalee asked, sighing.

“No.”

“Sorry Lena, I’m with Yuu in this one. And you are not exactly my type, sweetheart.” He smiled at her.

“You two are so boring. Well, have fun sulking!” And with that, they were alone again.  
Lavi sat back down, now facing his childhood friend. “Care for a drink?” He asked.

“If you are buying.” The slightly younger male replied, smirking. Lavi chuckled as he raised his hand, hoping that the woman working the bar would notice him. He shot him a side glance: they had met in Primary School in San Francisco, where they both lived with their respective father figures. Lavi had taken a liking to him almost instantly while Kanda… Kanda took a lot longer to even acknowledge him as an acquaintance. Even not long ago, whenever Lavi called him by his given name he’d have something thrown at his face, but now Yuu either resigned himself to his fate and let the ginger call him that way or genuinely didn’t mind anymore.

“Aren’t I always?” The bar-woman was now by their side.

“What’s it gonna be?”

“I’ll have a… Jungle Juice, if that’s available, if not a Zombie will be alright.”

“I think they made Jungle Juice last night, I’ll send someone to check it up for me. And you?”

“Kiwi Sudachi Chu.”

She looked surprised at the concoctions they had asked for. She was so used to making so many cuba libres and serving tequilas and shots that she had thought she’d forget how to mix real drinks.

“I’ll be back as soon as possible.” She told them before going back to the mixing bar.

Lavi sighed as his eye surveyed the crowd and then went back to the barwoman; had he been straight, he would have been hitting on her the moment he saw her. Even he was aware that she was a beauty: pale fair skin, jet black hair that was tied in a low ponytail with a bell, that jingled softly every time she moved, she wasn’t tall but wasn’t short either, just average, with cerulean blue eyes and long lashes.

“You know, for being gay, you sure are checking her out.” He came back to earth when Kanda talked, one eyebrow arched.

“Pff. Gay or no gay I’d rather check her out than any of the morons down there.” He groaned. “How’s Alma doing?” Alma, Kanda’s childhood friend, who had moved to Spain with his father when his mother flew away with her lover, which then reunited with Kanda in London by mere coincidence two years back. They had been going out for the last three months.

“Fine. He really likes it in that cafe.”

“Hm. That’s good. At least he likes his job.” Lavi grumbled.

“Yeah.” Kanda nodded: he knew Lavi wasn’t happy about his job as an editor at the Daily Express and not because of the job itself. Working on newspapers and being a reporter had been his dream since they were kids , but his boss and co-workers were bigoted assholes who thought he was nothing because of sexual preferences and looks. Working at a right-wing media wasn’t of his preference, but for now, it was the best thing he had and Lavi had said more than once that he would not quit before he found a better job.

Then again, he himself wasn’t exactly with happy his job as an UTA, but hey, at least he got a minimum incoming for helping the teachers in their classes, the main problem weren’t even his tutors, who for some reason, were happy with his stern looks, no, the main problem and that he couldn’t get rid off were the students, all asking stupid questions over and over again.

“There you go.” They looked up to find their drinks in front of them.

“Thanks.” Lavi said, flashing a bright smile before taking a sip. “Oh damn that’s good.” He praised before taking another. “Hey, quick question, is there anyway that we can change this crappy music to something more…” He made a wild gesture that while it said nothing, it also said it all.

“Well, if you can convince the DJ, I’m sure he would do it. Gladly. But the amount of people who have come, tried to convince him to put a specific song and succeeded amounts to zero.” She told him.

“Great.”

“But feel free to try. You might get lucky if you play your cards right.” She winked at him and went back to serving a round of shots.

Kanda chuckled on the confused look on his face. “Hey Yuu.” He made a humming sound as he too sipped his glass, his eyes opening a bit more at the taste: the balance was just right. “Was she flirting with me or telling me to flirt with the DJ?”

“Definitely telling you to flirt with the guy.” He replied, still marveling at his drink.

“Right, right.” He sat down again and kept drinking his colourful concoction.

* * *

 

He loved his job. He really did. But there was one thing that he hated with a passion about his job: the music he had to play. Pop. Always pop. 80’s and 90’s he was fine with, 00’s was ok, but anything that came out as of late, was pure rubbish, and yet he had to play them because that what their clients wanted. That’s why he liked theme nights the most, because he was free to choose the music as long as it was according to the topic.

He looked down at the crowd: same bunch of air headed assholes who had nothing better to do than come here and try to hook up with some girls, usually never succeeding. It was almost sad to see them there every single week and never getting any.

Sighing he stood up, put the player on shuffle and headed for the door, grabbing his glass on his way out. He stepped down the stairs and headed for the bar, dodging everyone like an expert.

“Lulu.” Everyone looked at him as soon as he opened his mouth.

He was used to that, to everyone staring at him: his white hair always attracted unwanted attention but oh well, he loved his hair and he was not going to die it any time soon.

“You came sooner than usual.” The woman said, taking the glass from him and putting it away before serving him a shot of their best scotch.

“Bored.” He simply replied, sitting down on one of the few free stools. “Today sucks.”

“For you. I got two guys that know their drinks, I could do something different for once.” She pointed at them with one slender finger. “Jungle Juice for the redhead and Kiwi Sudachi Chu for the Japanese.”

“They do know their drinks, I give you that.” He replied as he kept eyeing the pair.

“Say, Allen,” She started as she leaned against the counter and into his personal space, not that he minded too much, though. Not with family, at least. “Isn’t he exactly your type?”

“Yeap.” He nodded, taking another shot of his scotch, savouring the burn. “Is he taken?”

“Not from what I could grasp. Long-time friends, I’d say.” She told him, winking at him as she served him another glass.

“Hey, if you two are done gossiping, do you mind attending me, sexy thing?” One of the guys said, reaching for her, at what Lulu retrieved, eyes cold as ice.

“You might want to watch how you speak, she can kill you.” Allen said as he turned around to get a better sight of the red-haired guy.

And damn if it wasn’t a view: the red hair fell all over his face, he had an eyepatch, and though it was weird, it suited him. His visible eye was bright green and he had the goofiest and brightest smile Allen had seen in awhile.  He was wearing a low round hat, long silver earrings, three or four leather necklaces with pendants, a fit black T-shirt, a light grey leather jacket, tight jeans and military boots.

Oh yeah, totally his type. 

* * *

 

“Yuu?” He called.

“Hm?” He was still concentrated in his drink: that shit was good. Real good.

“I think there’s someone checking me out. Please tell me it’s not a creep.” For some reason, Lavi was always able to tell when someone was looking at him from his behind. He shifted his gaze and looked around until he saw the guy who, as predicted, was definitely checking him out.

And damn if the guy didn’t look tasty.

“Definitely not a creep. White hair –probably bleached, who has that kind of colour at our age?– in a really messy bun, silver eyes –contacts, I am sure–, has a tattoo on his face, I think. Could be a scar, can’t tell from this distance. I’m guessing shorter than us, but not by much, probably around Alma’s.”

Lavi sighed at the good news that it wasn’t some old creep or lady. “Am I safe to turn?”

“If you want to be eye fucked.” As soon as he heard those words he turned, although not quickly  
enough to make it too obvious. His eye surveyed the crowd until he found him, not that it wasn’t too hard with that hair colour.

And damn if it wasn’t a great view. The guy was dressed with a black T-shirt that had some cute-looking monsters, a black no-buttons vest, a white-and-black checkered tie that hung loose around his neck, headphones around his neck, he wore a fingerless wool-looking glove on his left hand that went up his arm until his shoulder and on his right he had another fingerless glove, but this one was a leather one, and it didn’t go up his arm. He was wearing what seemed to be a pair of worn-out jeans.

How the hell did he miss such a hottie?

“Hey, Jungle Juice” he looked up to the barwoman. “The one you are checking out is the DJ.”

“That’s… him?”

“I told you you might get lucky.” She smirked before grabbing a bottle of Coke.

“Hm…” He mused, staring at the guy. “Do you mind Yuu?” The Japanese only grunted as he replied a text, surely from Alma. “Well then, see you later.”

With that, he took his drink and headed for the guy, who was watching his every moves like a predator. When he finally got there, the albino pointed at the free stool next to him.

“You are even better from up close.” The DJ said as soon as he sat down. “Much, much better.”

“Is that so? Because you ain’t bad yourself mister DJ.” He replied, moving closer to him. “The name’s Lavi.”

“Allen.” Was the answer before a hand moved to tilt his hat back. “Care for a dance?”

“To that?” Nicki Minaj ‘Stupid hoe’ was the song currently deafening him. “You change that shit to something better and you’ll have a dance.” Even if his whole demeanor screamed cool and calm, he was almost a wretch inside, what if Allen didn’t change it and moved to someone else?

“You drive a hard bargain.” He grinned and stood up. “Wait here.” He stood and up and Lavi watched him go to the studio (Yes! He had guessed it right!) It didn’t even take a minute until he was going back to the bar, what seemed to be an iPad in his hand.

The redhead watched him move through the crowd, avoiding colliding and gently pushing people to the side to avoid them walking into his personal area. He sat down next to him, grinning.

“So, Lavi, what are you into?”

He arched an eyebrow, surprised at his own power of conviction. “Weren’t you supposed to be hard to convince?”

“What?”

“The barwoman, she said the number of people who got you to put a song of their choice was equal to 0.” He told him, frowning. Had he been played?

“Oh, she is right. I’ve never changed the music before, and some of them even tried to pay me, but none of them weren’t as hot yourself. And I really want to drag you over there.” He grinned and winked at him. “I mean, have you seen the people here?”

“Ugh. Of course I have.” He groaned.

“Well, that’s my everyday life and if someone like you is interested in me… No way I’m letting that chance scape, eyepatch. Now, what genre do you like?”

“Huh… Nightcore, mostly.” He replied. He was aware that it was not your everyday music, but hey, he just loved the fast beats.

“Sweet lord, and you are into that too.” He heard him mumble under his breath but decided to ignore it. “‘Me too song’ alright then?”

“Yeah. I love that song.” He grinned.

“Ok. Give me a minute.” He stood up once more and went to the half door that gave entrance to the other side of the bar.

“Oh, so not only you serve him right away when he shows, but he can step inside?” Someone accused, pointing at him.

“I’m the DJ, genius.” Allen replied as he waved him a card, shutting the other guy up instantly, before getting a couple of wires that he connected to the iPad and to what seemed to be the a computer embedded in the counter. He took a small remote control and went back to Lavi. “Give me your glass.” He said as he took his and downed it in one go.

“I haven’t finished yet!” He complained.

“I’m not throwing it away, I’ll just leave it here so you can have it later. Or do you plan to dance while holding it?” He smirked as he took the glass and hid it inside a cabinet. “Lulu! Watch that for me, yeah?”

“Sure Al. Just get out there and stop messing with my things.” She shooed him away, smirking.  
Lavi chuckled at that: they had such a good relationship, they acted as if they were siblings. Why couldn’t he have that too?

“Let’s go!” He grabbed him by the hand and brought him over to the dance floor.

And just then, the music changed. Quite a few people groaned and complained, but most of them just went with it, too wasted to care.

As soon as the first beat came, he started grinding his hips against Allen, and even if the albino looked surprised for a split second, he recuperated quickly and mimicked his moves, laughing and bringing his arms up.

Who’s that sexy thing I see over there?

It’s me, standing in the mirror.

Lavi was surprised when the voice he heard wasn’t a female one, it was a male’s. It wasn’t too deep, but it wasn’t as high as women’s, it had a much more pleasant ring to it.

He let one arm wrap around Allen’s shoulders as he rose his other, laughing too.

He looked down to see his face and he felt his breath catch in his throat. Allen was just so hot.

His eyes were squinted because of his laughing (and he could swear he was not using lents), his hair a mess as the bun was coming undone, and he was just rock hard everywhere. Seriously, the guy had abs of steel. And the muscles of his arms were no joke either. How was a DJ that packed? Did moving LP’s and CD’s around really make that kind of wonders?

“You like what you see?” Allen asked tauntingly, pressing even closer to him. “If I was you, I’d wanna do me too.” He sang in perfect synch with the music, smirking.

“Nice.” He grinned and before he thought it through, he kissed him, out of the blue, teeth and tongue. And he was kissed back the same way.

They broke the kiss panting and smirking, the music going back to some pop rubbish. “At what time are you leaving?”

“Who knows, my car broke so I came by with a friend, and knowing her she is not leaving this place until you guys close.” He shrugged as he pointed at her. “Black dress, green hair.”

“That’s gives us about an hour a half.” He winked and grabbed him by his wrist, going back to the bar, but now, there was a man instead of Lulu. “Tyki, I’m going to be busy for awhile, ok?”

“Hm. I can see that.” Lavi squirmed under Tyki’s gaze. The man had long raven hair pulled in a low messy ponytail, dark brown (with a couple of specks of green) eyes and what appeared to be a tattoo of a stigmata on his neck and much more tanned than he or Allen were. Did they only hire crazy hot people in there or what?

“Where’s Lulu anyway?” He had entered the bar again as he picked up the iPad, put the wires away and retrieved Lavi’s glass.

“She had to go get more rum.” He told him. “And I was just about to win.” He whined.

“Yeah, next time I’ll come around.”

“No thank you. I happen to like winning.’’ He served him another glass of scotch. “Now shoo.” Allen winked and grabbed both glasses.

“Let’s go Lavi.” He said as he gave him his drink and hooked a finger on a loop of his belt, pulling him along.

“Eager, I see.” He chuckled as he followed the DJ back to the studio. “Ohh… Kinky Allen.”

The albino snorted and turned around. “You don’t seem to mind much.” He simply said before kissing him again, his hand tangling in his red hair.

Lavi kissed back, pressing him against the door, before working a knee between the shorter one’s legs.

Allen grunt against his mouth, wrapping a leg around his waist before grinding, unconsciously following the beat of the music playing downstairs.

“Sofa.” The DJ said as he flipped the hat off and removed the shirt.

Lavi grinned and started to remove all of Allen’s upper items. “You sure dress well for being here most of the night.” He said, smirking.

“What can I say? I like dressing nicely.” He grinned as he put his precious headphones away before biting Lavi on the collar bone, smirking at the low growl that he received in response.

The ginger pushed him down on the sofa before attacking him; he kissed and nipped whatever he could: mouth, neck, shoulders, nipples.

“You do know we are still in my work place, right?”

“Of course. Why?” He lapped one of the nipples before sucking.

“Because I am not supposed to be having sex during work hours, and I certainly do not want my boss busting my ass like that.” He groaned, as he made quick work of Lavi’s tight pants, pooling them around his knees. “Fuck, how can you move with this?” He growled.

“Pf, as if yours weren’t tight.” He replied, grinning.

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about you’ trouse’rs da’ling.” Allen drawled as he sneaked a hand inside his boxers, palming him.

“Fuck.” His hips bucked into the hand teasing him.

“That’s what I’m aiming for.” He grinned and kissed him again, one hand tangling in the red locks. Lavi snorted on the kiss before he too made quick work of his partner’s jeans, groaning when they got stuck with the snickers, so he pulled them out of the way. “And you say I’m eager.” He grinned before kneeling too and pushing Lavi so he rested on the sofa. “Bottom or top?” He asked as he grinded their crotches together, moaning low on his throat.

“Don’t mind either way. It’s your house, you decide.” He said, smirking as he massaged his taut thighs.

“Well, then I really do hope you are up to the task of topping Lavi.” He grinned and kissed him again.

“Oh, I totally am.” The ginger moved his hands to his ass and squeezed. “Got lube? And condoms?”

“Of course I do.” Allen winked as he got up and went to his desk to get the items. “You’ll have to lose those, though.” He pointed at his boxers and Lavi rolled his eye as he took them off along with the jeans. “Da-amn.” Allen walked back to him and wrapped his leather-clad hands around Lavi’s cock and stroked.

“Fuck.” The feeling of the leather was definitely something new for him: none of his past boyfriends or one night stands wore leather.

“Feels good, doesn’t it? The rubbery feel against your skin, and it’s tight, and it heats with each stroke…” Allen was lapping his nipple now, grinning mischievously.  
Lavi fisted his hair (part of his mind wondered when did he let it down) and kissed him again. “Kneel on the sofa, will you?”

He did, sticking his butt in the air. Lavi liked his lips at the sight in front of him as he squirted some of the lube on his fingers and pressed one inside. He wasn’t too tight, be he wasn’t too loose either.

“Open your legs a bit more.” And the albino did so, groaning when he slipped another finger in.

“Hurry it up!” He wriggled his ass to make a point, half-glaring at him over his shoulder.

“It’s gonna hurt.” Lavi mumbled as he shifted closer, pressing his lips on his shoulder.

“Believe me, the last thing a bit of pain does is turn me off.” He grinned and moved so he could kiss him, nipping at his lips.

“You sure, then?” Allen nodded, his silver eyes darkened with lust and desire. The ginger removed his fingers, ripped the condom package open and put it on, groaning at the touch.

He moved Allen closer to the edge of the sofa before entering him.

“Oh fuck. You didn’t seem so big.” Allen whimpered, his hold on the backrest of the sofa tightening.

“Want me to pull out?” Sure, they had just met, but he was not going to hurt him just because.

“Nah, I’m fine. Just… stay still for a moment?” He asked.

“Of course. Just tell me when I can move.” He had his hands around his waist so he rubbed his thumbs to help him relax.

Allen was slightly confused: he had never seen a one night-stand behave like Lavi did, to be… concerned. And he had let him decide what position he prefered while most of the other just assumed he was a bottom regardless of if he had asked the question or not. Not that he minded Lavi was that way, it was a nice change for once.

“Move.” He told him. Lavi smirked and did so, retreating slowly before slamming. “Fuck. Yes.”

“Want more then?”

“Stop and I’ll kick your ass out of here.” The green-eyed one chuckled before doing the same motion, drawing moans from his lover.

Allen was meeting his thrusts, his fingers gripping the cushions tight and his knees digging into the sofa.

“You are amazing.” Lavi growled as he sped up his pace, his forehead resting on the albino’s shoulder.

“Heh. You are… oh god! too.” He turned his head and kissed him, sucking on his tongue. “Oh. Oh! I’m cumming, Oh god I’m cumming!” He shivered violently as he released on the sofa. Lavi stopped as soon as Allen stopped convulsing. “Why’d you stop?”

And now he felt awkward about having to explain himself. “Uh… You just came and…”

“Oh fo’r fuck’s sake, jus’t keep going, will ye? I’m no’t a china doll.” He snapped his hips back, trying to get Lavi into motion again.

He moved again, setting a fast pace but always mindful of Allen, not that the silver-eyes one seemed to mind it, gasps and breathy moans leaving his mouth. Lavi felt how he clenched even more around him.

“Oh. My. God. How can you…?” And he did it again, creating even more contact around him. “Shit!” He came inside the condom, slumping on the DJ’s back.

“You ok?” Allen asked, his gloved hands taking his.

“Yes.” He replied as he tried to catch his breath. “Let me pull out.” Shakily he did so before he slumped on the sofa. Allen smiled and carefully pulled the condom, tied it and threw it into the bin. “Can I stay here for a while?”

“Of course. Take your time.” He pecked his lips and smiled at him. “I do need to get back to work, though.”

“Sure. I’ll just watch. That’s something I’ve never seen before.”

“Alright. And get dressed or I won’t be going back to my job anytime soon.” He winked at the redhead before he put his clothes back on and sat down on his chair, putting his headphones on.  
Lavi also got dressed, although not as hurriedly, wiped the sofa clean (or as much as he could) and sat down, watching Allen work: it was like magic. A tweek of that button there, press that other one, get one little bulb blinking and then bring down the little slidey thing (he so needed to update his musical vocabulary and slang).

He watched him. He was beautiful, his head banging softly and his fingers drumming on the chairs armrest. He jumped out of his seat when he heard the message notification.  
Lena-lady: Nice catch! Lenalee had written and not just in private, no, the little she-devil had to write in the group she, Kanda, Alma and himself had.

 _AK:_ Who? Alma, little gossiper.

 _Lena-lady:_ Lavi. He hooked up with a cute guy.  Lenalee quickly summarised.

 _Yuu-chan:_ He’s the DJ. And of course Kanda couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

 _Lena-lady:_ He’s the WHAT? How did he manage to get him?

 _Yuu-chan:_ How should I know? I’ve been sitting by the bar the whole night. Barwoman makes for a good conversation, at least.

You guys do know I’m reading all of this, right? He typed, arching an eyebrow as if they could see him.

 _Yuu-chan:_ You done already? That was fast.

He’s still at work, you know?

 _Yuu-chan:_ Did you manage to get his name, at least?

What kind of person do you think I am, Yuu? He’s name is Allen.

 _AK:_ Got a pic?

No?

 _AK:_ Well, then get one.

Lavi rolled his eye as he opened the camera App.

“Hey, Allen.”

“Yeah?” He turned around to see him and he took the picture. “Did you just take a photo of me?”

“Yeah. Is it ok if I send it to my friends? They won’t shut up.” He told him.

Allen smirked deviously before extending his hand. “Can I have your phone?”

“Uh… Sure.” He stood up and brought it to him, watching how he turned the video function on, his hair was up in a bun again, which left his whole face cleared and the tattoo was clear to see.

“Yo, Lavi’s friends. This is Allen D. Marian-Campbell, DJ of the Noah’s Ark. I’ll bring him back to you in a bit. Also, he is a great lay.” He finished the video with that and hit send.

“You have no shame, have you?” Lavi asked as he got his phone back.

“Nope.” He grinned and tugged him down to kiss him again.

 _AK:_ OK, I gotta give it you Lavi, this one is, by far, the best one you’ve ever put your hands on.  
Lena-lady: Agree to that.

 _Yuu-chan:_ Yeah, but he sounds like a moron.

 _AK:_ Don’t be like that Yuu, I think he’s cool.

Lavi rolled his eyes at Kanda’s answer: so typical of him to just criticise anyone the first time he met them.

“Hey Allen, I should head back down.” He told him, leaning over the chair.

“Want me to come with you?” He questioned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find my way back.” The one with the eyepatch chuckled. “Say, will we see each other again?”

“You know where to find me.” He winked at him and pecked his lips.

“I’ll make sure to come back then.” Lavi drawled as he grabbed his drink and headed downstairs.

He sighed, he had hoped to get his number but it was probably too soon after just one night. However, Allen did say they’d see each other again.

“Hey Yuu.” He leaned on the bar, next to his friend.

“Please do something with your hair, it’s easy to see what you did.” The Japanese one growled.

“Oops.” He flattened with his hands, waving at their female friend when she looked for them. “Hey Lena-lady.”

She smirked before leaning on the other side of Kanda. “How did you even met the guy?”

“He came down, the barwoman told me to flirt with him if I wanted to change the song and I did, he asked me for a dance. And I told him that if he wanted to dance with me, he had to change the music. He did, we danced, kissed and went to his studio and had sex.” He quickly summarised.

“Awesome. He looks like a nice guy. Did you get his number?” She asked, sipping from Yuu’s drink.

“Not yet. He said to come back if I wanted to see him again, so I guess that for now it’s good enough.” Her whole face brightened at the prospect of being able to come back with him.

“Awesome! We are totally coming again. With Alma, too. He needs to see this!” She exclaimed.

“Jungle Juice, Sudachi, there’s a free booth over there if you all want to sit.” Lulu told them. “Also, good job on getting Allen to change the song.”

The red-haired smirked before nodding. “Yeah, I guess the amount of people getting him to change it amounts to one now.” The dark haired woman chuckled before turning around. “Anyway, how about we start heading home? This place is almost empty by now.”

“Yeah, I have practises on the morning tomorrow.” Kanda agreed, standing up.

“Of course, now that Lavi’s got what he wanted, we have to leave. Mean.” She complained, but she was smiling as she followed them outside. “You know, I feel like I’ve seen the DJ face somewhere before. His name also sounds familiar.” She told them as she climbed on the driver’s seat.

“Don’t think about it too hard. It’s probably from one of your stupid magazines.” Kanda told her.

“Hm… Maybe.” She mused as she started to drive them to the flat they shared.


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

He should have asked for his number. Lavi sighed.

“ **I swear that if you sigh one more time you better start looking for someplace to crash because I’ll kick you out.”** Kanda threatened over the phone.

“But it’s raining, Yuu!” He whined.

“ **Exactly.”** Lavi huffed. “ **But seriously, you need to either forget about the DJ or just go to the club and ask for his goddamn cell number, it’s not that hard. You’ve done it a million times before.”** He told him.

“Yuu, a-are you concerned for me or something?”

“ **Of course not! I just can’t take anymore of your pinning!”** Kanda told him, but yes, he was a bit concerned. It wasn’t like Lavi to behave like that because of a night-stand. All that moping and sighing and looking into nothing was driving him insane.

“Riiiight. Anyway, I’ll get home in about thirty minutes. The traffic is jammed, so I think I’ll walk, no way in hell of taking the bus.”

“ **If you catch cold, don’t bitch.”**

“Yes mom.” He hung up and looked up to the black sky. Ugh, damn England and its rain. And he had to leave his umbrella at home, too. Well, he could buy one at the 24h store on the corner.

* * *

“Going to stuff your mouth with a big fat cock, fag?” Someone called as he crossed the door.

He hated it. He hated his co-workers, he hated his workplace, but he couldn’t leave, not without another job secured. Yuu would understand, he knew he would because they had talked about it.

It had been almost a year and some months since their Talk. He had arrived home with his shirt untucked, his eyepatch missing and a swelling cheek. Yuu, who had been doing his homework and Lenalee (she had been living with them for a while), had sat him down on the sofa and as the Chinese girl went to fetch cotton and disinfectant, Yuu went to fetch one of his spare patches, giving it to him wordlessly as he took the seat next to him.

“What happened?” She asked as she started to treat him, seeing that his lip was broken, too.

“They decided that today was ‘harass the faggot’ day.” He replied, his voice dripping sarcasm in each word.

“Oh Lavi…” She whispered before sitting next to him and hugging him. “Why wouldn’t you tell us it was this bad?”

“It isn’t. It was just today.” He told her, his arms circling her to calm her down.

“B-but…!”

“Lenalee, it’ll be okay, alright?” He shushed and patted her back.

It hadn’t been. Not by a long shot. The roughing him up hadn’t happened again, but he was always the one to be given the shittiest news to cover, the one to have the worst schedules and of course, the one with no possibility to get a promotion or a raise.

Their next intervention had been three months back, a Sunday. He had been having breakfast when Yuu stormed in, speaking in a mesh of Japanese, English and French, so he guessed he was talking to either his adoptive father or one of his two adoptive older brothers.

“I said I am ok! No, I don’t need more money, Tiedoll!” Hm. So his father it was. “Look, I have to go. I’ll text you or something.” He frowned at whatever the man had said. “I am not Skyping with Daisa. He’s twenty-two for fuck’s sake. We saw each other two months ago. And I’ve got shit to do. I’ll see you when you come.” And with that he hung up.

“Daisya missing you already?” He asked.

“As always.” He started to fix himself a cup of tea and when he was done and left it sitting, he turned around, arms crossed over his chest, with a frown on his face, but this one didn’t look like his ‘brooding frown’, he looked as if he was searching for the exact words to say. “You need to leave.”

Oh. He hadn’t been expecting that. He knew he wasn’t at his best moment and sometimes snapped at Yuu or Lenalee with no reason. He had been sour and ignoring them both, but Lavi thought they understood, that _he_ understood. He had hoped that because of all the years they had known each other, Yuu would let his behaviour slide.

“Uh… Yeah, I should do that.” He couldn’t let Yuu know how hurt he was, he couldn’t. If he was going to be asked to leave, he’d do it with his head held up high. “I’ll start looking for something new, don’t worry.”

“Who said I was worrying?” Right, Yuu didn’t do worrying.

Lavi nodded, finished his coffee and stood up. “I’ll start making the arrangements to leave.”

“On a Sunday? You can wait until tomorrow.” No, he couldn’t. Or else he’d break in front of him and that was the last thing he wanted.

“The sooner I do it the better.”

“Suit yourself.” Yuu didn’t move, just watched him go to his room and disappear.

And once he was alone in his… No, the room. It wasn’t his for much longer, Yuu was kicking him out. He broke down, not the tears-and-slot kind of break down, more of the slide-against-the-door-down-to-the-floor sort of breakdown.

He hugged his head, trying to get the idea of ‘homeless’ into his head. He had enough savings to live in a motel a while, but his paycheck was ridiculously small, so he wouldn’t be able to stay there for more than two or three months. Another option was moving back to France with his grandfather, but he wasn’t looking forward to that either. Lavi loved the man, he did, but the old man was just _so_ strict with everything. He could try and find someone to share a flat with, start over with someone new. Lenalee could maybe have him for a while, but after how he treated her, he didn’t have much hope there either.

Anyway, he needed to leave the papers ready for Yuu to sign and pack everything into his suitcases. Thank god he mainly had books and clothes with just few pictures, mostly of him and Yuu with the occasional passing friend until they mostly settled with Lenalee.

He packed his clothes in less than two hours, he was good at that, always had been, he was able to put almost two times the clothes his grandfather could inside a normal sized suitcase. And he made sure the framed pictures were in between his clothes so that they didn’t break.

When he stepped outside, he realised Kanda had left, probably to tell Lenalee or meet Alma, who knew. Or maybe just to give him space to collect everything he needed. Sometimes he was nice like that.

So he went to the stores around the flat to ask if they had any cardboard boxes they could give him so he put his books in. What he didn’t expect when he got back, was Kanda, standing in front of his old room, with a look of utter confusion and _hurt_ written all over his face.

“What’s all this?”

“My things. Yeah, I hadn’t realised how much I had, either.” He tried to joke, but it fell flat, even harder than they usually did with the Japanese.

“That’s not the… Why is it all packed up?”

“What do you mean why is it all packed up? We talked about this over breakfast Yuu!” He said exasperatedly, setting the boxes and the tape down on the table with a slam.

“When? Because I certainly do not recall you telling me that you planned to leave the apartment while I was out!” He was hurt. Deeply. It was easy to read it in his eyes, his scowling face.

“You told me I needed to leave, Kanda! What else was there to say?” He slumped against the table. “And you think you have the right to be hurt? Sorry to break it to you, but the one being homeless in a few months is going to be me. I thought you understood, that you knew I wasn’t feeling well and that I couldn’t be how I usually was, that I had no strength in me to be nice or go with you and Lenalee around. And I’m sorry, ok? But I thought you would at least care a bit for me and let me stay until I got better. So sorry if I’ve snapped at you or given you the cold shoulder, but it’s not as if you never did it to me.”

He was crying now, silent tears running down his cheeks. “So you have no right to look at me like this when you told me I needed to get out of here and find myself a new place to stay. I’m the one who should feel hurt and betrayed.” He took a pause, blinking, before continuing. “I guess Alma can move in if I’m gone. Lenalee should be happy too, she won’t have to put up with my bad humour anymore, she…” He never finished that sentence. Not when he was pulled into a tight embrace by quivering arms. “Kanda?”

“I would never… throw you out. Not like this.” The slightly shorter man mumbled. “I… do care.” Getting the words out was difficult, he had never been one to share his feelings and emotions and shit with others, not even Lavi or Alma, who were the closest to be his friends. “I never cared for you snapping at me or not talking to me or anything, I know you are going through a rough patch, fuck, everyone in the street probably knows it.” The Japanese pulled away, physical contact never being his favourite thing. “I meant your job. You need to get out of there. It’s not doing you any good.” He explained.

“Oh.” He felt like shit right now. He had just accused Yuu of things that hadn’t been true, that he himself had put in his head. What kind of friend was he? They had known each other since they were kids, had gone together to school practically almost every day, they celebrated most of the Holidays together, they had moved from San Francisco to London together so they would not lose contact, fuck they were _living_ together and had been for the last three years. He was a worthless friend and person. He wasn’t worth to call himself Yuu’s friend when the first thing he did was accuse him of things that weren’t true. He should have known that Kanda would never kick him out like a dog. How could he had thought that Kanda was that cold when he knew that it was just a facade to protect himself? He had seen Yuu’s softer side, around Alma, around his family, around himself. The look of hurt and betrayal he had had in his eyes when he realised he was moving without telling him should have told him that there had been a terrible misunderstanding.

“Hey, are you alright?” He had a hand on his shoulder, either to catch him if he falled or for reassurance.

“Can… can we sit?” Yuu nodded and they sat down on the sofa, Lavi wringing his hands. “I’m sorry. I had no right in saying all of that to you. You’ve been amazingly supportive, in your way. I just… the thought of you kicking me out was just… unbearable. You are one of the few people I truly consider a friend and… I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. No problem. I should have specified what I was talking about anyway.” Yuu, for the first time ever in all the years they had known each other, admitted that something was also his fault, even if just partially. “I really think you need to get out of that shithole you call work. You could do so much better, you could go teach at university if you wanted. You could work at a bigger newspapers. They don’t deserve you.” This was also a first, Kanda comforting him like this, with actual touching and talking like two grown ups.

“But I can’t leave. Not until I find a new job, I couldn’t pay my part of the rent if I left.”

“I don’t care about that. Tiedoll would pay yours too, gladly. You know that.” He told the redhead.

“And it’s because I know that, that I can’t do it.” Lavi smiled softly. “Don’t worry, I swear I’ll start looking alright?”

“Yeah, you do that. Now… unpack everything, ok?” The ginger nodded and hugged him quickly before standing up and going to his room, feeling a lot lighter inside: he should have known Yuu did care for him.

He opened the door to the store and went straight to the umbrella section, getting a black one. He paid and started to make his way home.

“Hey Lena!” He answered to the call.

“ **Hi Lavi. Are you and Kanda doing something this Sunday?”** She asked.

“Not that I know of. Why?”

“ **A friend of mine is arriving here on Sunday and I thought that maybe you would like to come him up with me? With Alma, of course.”**

“Sounds like a plan to me! I’ll tell Yuu about it.”

“ **Great. Thanks! He’s getting here around 11am, so we could go have lunch together, right?”**

“Sure!” That girl always lifted his spirits.

“ **Say, have you talked to Allen yet?”**

“I don’t have his cell number, remember?”

“ **Forgot about that. We should go back again so you could get it. I could get Alma and my friend to join us.”** She mused.

“Sounds good to me.”

“ **Damn Lavi, if I had known all it took was to hook up with a cute, cool DJ to get you to go party with me, I would have done it a long time ago.”**

“Oh, shut up Lena. I was lucky he noticed me, since all the guys there were fucking hideous.”

“ **Well, you got that right.”** She sighed. “ **Can you come pick me up on Sunday?”**

“Sure Lena-lady. I’ll text you with whatever Yuu and Alma say, alright?”

“ **Yeah. Thanks Lavi, you are the best.”**

“As if I hadn’t known that.” He chuckled. “By girl.”

“ **Bye!”**

It didn’t take him long to get home, his feet wet, but nothing major. “I’m home Yuu!” He yelled when he entered the house.

“I can hear you, don’t yell.” The Japanese admonished. “And change your shoes before entering, you dumbass!”

“Yeah, yeah. Lenalee says if we want to go with her to pick a friend of hers at the airport in Sunday.”

“Do we have to?”

“Well, you can say no and wait for her to come a threaten you with something, so it’s your pick.” He grinned as he entered the kitchen hearing him grunt in resignation. “She also said to tell Alma.” Kanda nodded and fished his phone to text his boyfriend. And as expected, Alma agreed. The guy was just a bubble of joy and happiness.

“When do we have to pick up the fucker?”

“Sunday morning. She said he was arriving around 11am, so I guess we need to leave around 10 and pick Lena and Alma up.”

“Which airport?” He asked a bit louder now that Lavi had gone to change his slightly damp clothes and into his pyjama.

“She didn’t tell me. I’ll ask her.” Kanda nodded as he served the food in two plates and gave Lavi one, both of them sitting on the sofa.

* * *

Lenalee, Kanda and Alma were sitting on the chairs of the waiting area, Lavi leaning against the wall, never one to sit down and wait. Suddenly, the only girl stood up with a bright smile plastered on her lips.

“Nalei!!” She waved at him before sprinting off and jumping at him as soon as she could.

“Lena!” He twirled her around before settling her back on the ground. “You’ve grown so much!” He looked at her, winking flirtingly.

“Oh shush Nalei, you have grown too!” She teased back before turning around and facing the other three boys. “Boys, this is Nalei, we met back in China when he moved with his aunt. Nal, these are Lavi Bookman, Kanda Yuu and Alma Karma.” Alma waved at him with his free hand, his other one holding Kanda’s, Lavi grinned and Kanda just nodded.

“Hello.” He grinned, too. “So what’s the plan?”

“Having lunch, then going out with you to the best club in town.” Lenalee told him. “You are coming too, right Alma?”

“Well of course. I have to meet Lavi’s friend.” He moved his eyebrows suggestively.

“He’s a moron.” Kanda stated.

“Everyone is a moron to you, _cariño_ _(1)_.” Alma pecked his cheek before winking at him. “Anyway, let’s go. I’m starving.”

“Agree to that!” Lavi and Lenalee took three of the four bags, put them in the boot of the car and climbed in: Lavi in driver’s seat, Kanda next to him and the other three at the back.

During the car ride they learnt that Nalei came from the rural side from India, where he lived and worked at his aunt’s house with his sister, whom had died nearly seven years ago due to a disease. After that, he and his aunt moved to Macao, where he met Lenalee and Komui. He went to university in Spain where he was studying Medicine and was going to live in London to do his internship, an opportunity given only to the best of the country.

“What do you all do?” He asked.

“I’m working at a tabloid.” Lavi stated and he heard Yuu mutter “shithole” under his breath.

“I’m doing Chemistry, it’s my last year.”

“And I work as a barista to pay for my classes. I’m doing Psychology.” Alma told him. “Hey Lavi, there's a spot there.” He pointed at it and Lavi parked.

The only girl in the group had booked them a table, so once everyone had ordered, they easily fell back into the conversation, Alma and Nalei hitting it off real quick due to their almost matching personalities.

“Oh! That’s right!” Lenalee exclaimed all of a sudden. “Hey Lavi, can I borrow your phone for a sec?”

“Uh… Sure, what’s wrong with yours?”

“Nothing, I just don’t have the video anymore.” She replied. “Aw, how cute Lavi! You faved it!” She cooed.

“Lena!” He blushed brightly, his whole face almost as red as his own hair.

“What? I think it’s super cute.” She giggled.

“Yeah, I used to listen to Yuu’s voice messages over and over.” Alma had no shame and that was a given. Kanda only glared at his boyfriend, his cheeks dusted with a bright pink at the incredibly cheesy confession that he had no need to know about.

“Anyway, Nalei, do you know this guy? Because I think I know him but I can’t place him anywhere.” She explained him before hitting the video for play.

‘ _Yo, Lavi’s friends. This is Allen D. Marian-Campbell, DJ of the Noah’s Ark. I’ll bring him back to you in a bit. Also, he is a great lay.’_

Nalei burst out laughing, tears pooling in his eyes. “He hasn’t changed that much after all!” He said as he handed the phone back to its owner.

“So you _do_ know him?” Lenalee asked.

“Of course. I guess you didn’t recognise him because he’s changed a lot since you two last saw each other. Say, do you remember Allen Walker?”

“Ally? Well of course, we were the Bad Touch Trio in school!” She exclaimed. “I never saw him after he left with his master to Kenya. We kept in touch for a few years, but he suddenly vanished.” She sounded terribly heartbroken at that.

The other three knew whom they were talking about: they had seen picture of Lenalee with her childhood friends: a dark haired and dark-skinned Indian boy who had a goofy smile and a British redhead with maroon eyes with fair skin who was usually smirking. They just realised that the dark-haired kid was Nalei.

“They were involved in a car crash six years ago. Cross was left with half of his face scarred, a few broken bones but nothing too serious. Allen had a completely broken leg and when they treated him, the medicine had a second effect in his body. It…”

“Bleached his hair?” Lavi questioned, understanding dawning on him.

Nalei looked taken aback as if he shouldn’t know this, before he realised that he had just guessed it.

“Wait, so _your_ Allen” she pointed at Lavi when she understood what the reporter had implied “is _our_ Ally?”

“Yeah. He and Cross moved at Neah’s house –his adoptive uncle from his first father, Mana– and lived there while they got better. Allen got a degree in music and started working at the club. He got the tattoo on his face like, two years ago.” He quickly summarised, shrugging. “He hasn’t changed much though, he is still the same little shit he was back then.”

“What about his surnames?”

“Ah. After the accident Cross and Ally got real close, father/son relationship, I mean. So he ended up changing his surname to Cross’. And then Cross started to go out with Neah, so he took Neah’s too. Or something like that.”

Lavi was speechless. There was so much more to Allen than what first met the eye. And that just made him a thousand times more interesting in his eyes.

“Well, he’s going to have to explain himself to me, that’s for sure. How dare he stop trying to contact me?” She was fuming now, and it was incredibly cute.

“I think he lost your number, Lena.” Nalei laughed, bumping her shoulder. “You know he loves you like the sister he never had.”

“Of course he does. Anyway, thank god you’ll be coming with us to the club. Those two are useless when it comes to having fun.” She pointed at Kanda and Lavi, who only huffed.

“How is it my fault the music he has to play is crap?” The ginger said.

“And you dragged me in by threatening me. Sorry if I didn’t feel like lightening your mood.” Kanda groaned as he took a fry drenched in mayonnaise from Alma’s dish.

“I am sure you, Alma and I will bring the party there.” He grinned and high fived both of them.

* * *

He arrived alone at the bar, the other four coming in later. Not that he told them he was heading there almost two hours before them to try and see Allen before Lenalee and Nalei had all of his attention. It was weird

He arrived at the bar and leaned against it. “Hey.” He greeted, smiling.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Jungle Juice himself. And here I had thought that Al had scared you off.” She said as she turned around. They had just opened and there wasn’t much of a crowd yet, which meant she had a little time to actually talk to the ones she liked or remembered.

“Not yet.” He replied. “Can I have another Jungle?”

“Sure. What’s your name anyway? I can’t call you Jungle Juice forever.” She had turned around and started to prepare his drink.

“It’s Lavi. You are Lulu, right?” She made a humming sound to tell him he was correct. “So, how’s business going?”

“Can’t complain. I missed you here, though, no one asks for complex drinks anymore. And I know I’m not the only one who missed _you_. Different reasons, though.” She pushed the glass to him. “He’s alone by the way.” She winked at him and pushed a glass filled with scotch.

“I don’t like scotch.” He told her.

“I know, or else you wouldn’t be ordering Jungles, but that’s the only thing _he_ drinks.” Lavi nodded before taking both drinks and heading to the studio.

The door opened opened swiftly and in silence, but he promptly ignored whomever was there in favour of his music, it was probably either Lulu, Sheryl or Wisely anyway, so why bother?

“You know, I sort of expected a kiss or something after last time.” Lavi drawled as he stepped in.

Allen smirked as he turned around, his eyes falling on Lavi’s body. He was dressed with a black pair of jeans, sneakers, a black button down and bright orange scarf around his neck. The same earrings and same necklaces from the last time were there, too.

“Well, you should come and get it, then.” And Lavi did. He crossed the room in three large steps, bent over and kissed him, his tongue swiftly entering his mouth. Allen fisted his hair and brought him closer until Lavi was sitting on his lap. “You know, I sort of had expected to see you here sooner, not after a whole month.” He reprimanded him lightly. “You knew I’d be here.”

“I wanted to come, but I couldn’t. Work has been hell.” He replied.

“And that’s why I love my job.” He grinned and kissed him again, one hand traveling down south and groping him. “You in the mood?”

“Would I be here if I weren’t?” He bucked up against his hand, his own doing quick work of the vest and the sleeveless shirt the DJ was wearing.

“Probably not. Are you okay with bottoming today?”

“Fuck yes.” If Allen was as good at topping as he had been at bottoming, he could not wait. “Sofa?”

“Or chair, wherever you want it.” Allen replied as he pinched his nipple with his leather-clad hands, only this time he was only wearing gloves, nothing covering his left arm, that was completely black. It looked tattooed.

“Against the wall.” He moaned. “And prep me up with your gloves on.”

“Ooh… Kinky Lavi.” Allen bit his nipple before pressing a couple of buttons behind the male on his lap to set the music on shuffle mode and once that was done and he was sure no one was going to interrupt them for there not being any music on, he stood up and cornered Lavi against the door, the only space that wasn’t covered in shelves and CDs.

“So you’ll do it?” He asked. It was weird for people to indulge him in his many kinks, especially that fast. His last boyfriend only did in tying him to the bed, and that was after they had been seven months in a relationship. Allen did in their second time together and without knowing him besides the basic, and that was just his name.

“Well, you’ll never hear of me backing off from a kink offer.” He kissed him again, rubbing his nipples with the palm of his hand, making sure he could feel the leather against him.

“Ngh!” It felt so good. Just like the last time, the feel of the leather against him was something just amazing, plus, he could tell just by the smell, that the material was not that of a low quality.

Between hungry kisses, they made quick work of their clothes, that quickly were all over the place, and Lavi was sure he saw his jeans hanging from a shelf. Oh well, who cared?

“Up.” Allen mumbled before biting his neck, and Lavi did as told, wrapping both of his long legs around the albino’s small waist.

“How the fuck are you so strong?” He asked as he lightly scraped his nipples, receiving a moan in response.

“Hm… MMA.” He replied before he pressed himself to him, reaching for a drawer next to them. “Do you have any rubbers? Apparently we used the last one of mine.” He said as he retrieved the tube of lube.

“Are you clean?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Well, I am too. I’m fine doing it without if you are.” Lavi told him kissing his ear and rubbing his hard cock on his abs, listening to the ragged breaths.

“Oh, I am more than fine.” He didn’t usually do it without it, but there was something about Lavi that had him on fire faster than he cared to admit, and the idea of feeling him with no layers between them was just too hot to let it pass.

He covered his right gloved hand in a generous amount of lube, much more than he would usually use, but leather was hard to bend and with the gloves on his fingers were so much thicker. He pushed his index finger in, slowly, both for teasing and making sure he didn’t hurt him.

Lavi let out a strangled moan, it had been so long since he last bottomed and the feel of the leather was just so different to anything he had done before. It was smooth and slightly cold from both the lube and the material itself and the seams rubbed him on all the right places. He felt the finger wiggle inside him before pressing on one side to let the second one in.

“Oh fuck!” He tensed, his grip on the other’s shoulder tightening. He felt the pressure now, with the thick glove inside of him he could feel that it was as if he had already three fingers in him instead of two.

“Do you want me to take the glove off?” Allen asked, peppering kisses on his neck, shoulder and ear.

“No. Just… slowly.” He replied, moving his ass to prove a bit before sighing in pleasure. “Please.” He mumbled.

The DJ didn’t start a scissoring motion as he had thought he would, he just moved his fingers in a slow rotation motion to open him a bit more. And it felt so right, the gloves adding an extra friction that had him trembling after a couple of minutes. “More Allen, more.” He moaned, his head resting against the door. “Oh God!” He had started now with the scissoring and maybe it was because of the leather, maybe it was because of Allen, he didn’t know why, but it had never felt so good.

After a few more minutes and another slab of lube applied, the tattooed one pushed the third finger inside, the reporter tensing up once more, but relaxing quicker than before.

“Ya feel so tight ‘round me fingers.” Allen drawled, his cock dripping pre-cum onto the floor and Lavi moaned louder than he had before. “Wha’s the matter with ye now?”

“Your… accent.” He breathed, the fingers inside of him make it hard to actually think whole sentenced.

“Wha’ abou’t i’t?”

“Sexy. It’s sexy.” He replied before kissing him, a hand fisting the loose hair, tugging. “Fuck me already.” His cock was furious red, dripping precum like a broken faucet and he was covered in sweat. He had never been that desperate to get fucked as he was now. And that thick accent just did it, there was something about the English accent that he found totally irresistible, and Allen’s had been just so authentic he couldn’t help but just moan at it.

Allen chuckled at that: so out of everything it was his bloody accent that turned Lavi on the most? And here he was trying to erase it from existence. He let his fingers slip from inside him before trusting them in roughly again, and again, and again. And Lavi came, his eye rolling at the back of his head, his mouth open in a silent moan, signaling that his own orgasm took him by surprise.

“Oh shit… I’m sorry I just…” He couldn’t talk, his head in a daze and his body slumping against the door.

“Don’t be. That was... fuck, I just wish you could see yourself when you cum. You look so hot that I could come just by looking at you.” He told him, and it was not just to flatter him, it was true, it did take him all the control he had at the moment not to come.

Lavi kissed him again and wriggled his ass, the fingers still deep inside him. “Well, what are you waiting for? Fuck me already.”

“Are you sure? You just came.” Allen said and damn Mana and Neah for teaching him to always be a gentleman and Cross for teaching him to never leave a partner unsatisfied and always care for them, even if that meant having to take a trip to the toilet.

“I’m not a china doll.” He said repeating the same words Allen had said their first time together. “Just do it. Can’t wait to have you inside me.” He drawled and kissed him. “C’mon, you know you want to.”

Swallowing at the sight in front of him, he removed his fingers and tossed the gloves to the bin, they were useless anyway, making Lavi whimper at the loss. He slowly pushed in, moaning at the heat and the pressure.

“Jesus Christ.” He rested his forehead on the ginger’s shoulder.

“Exactly my words.” Lavi replied. “Move.”

And he did, slowly at first, grunts escaping his mouth from time to time. He only started to move fast when Lavi bit his neck and asked for it. One of his hands moved from the wall to under the ginger’s ass to hold him up.

Lavi was in bliss: Allen was amazing at that. The way he treated him, with all the care in the world was something he was not used to seeing in the other guys he had fucked, and the fact he hadn’t asked about his eyepatch either time just made it all different. He felt so big inside him and it felt just perfect even if he wasn’t even close to his prostate.

“Shit, you are so good.” Allen mumbled before kissing him. “So good to me.” He mumbled before he grasped one of Lavi’s hands from his shoulders and brought it down. “Touch yourself.” Lavi started to stroke himself in time with the albino’s thrusts, his back arching off the wall.

“Oh god. I’m gonna come, I’m gonna cum...Oh fuck! Allen!” He came once again, even if not as much as before, on his stomach.

A few thrusts later the DJ stilled inside of him, moaning his name low and husky, emptying himself inside him. He stayed there for a while, his legs being the only thing supporting them. After their breathing had slowed down a bit, Lavi realised how much of a strain he was putting Allen under, so he brought his legs down, sighing when Allen slipped from inside him, and led him to the sofa, where he flopped down, pulling a face when cum dripped from his ass.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I should have pulled out.” Allen quickly apologised.

“Hm… Don’t worry. I’ll go to the restroom and clean myself up.” He rolled onto his stomach and put his head on his lover’s thigh.

“Wouldn’t you prefer to shower?” Allen asked, his fair hand stroking the red hair.

“You’ve got showers here?”

“Yeah. Sometimes me and the guys don’t go home and just sleep upstairs, each of us has a small room with a bathroom.” He told him.

“You are close.” Lavi pointed out. Why was it that everyone loved their job and the people working with them and he was stuck with those homophobic, racists chauvinists assholes?

“We are all family. And I don’t mean it in a cheesy way, we are family, literal sense.”

“All? How many of you work here?”

“All of us, actually. You know Lulu and Tyki.” He nodded. “The bouncers are Skinn and Maashima, they’re the eldest of us all. At the office there’s Sheryl and Wisely, Sheryl is the one in charge of all the legal things, he’s a lawyer, and Wisely is the one in charge of our presence in the internet and different shows and competitions. Watching the security cams there’s Fiidora. Toraido is the inside bouncer. Maitora is our repair lady. Then there’s the twins, Devitto and Jasdero they… Well, I’m not sure about their job, they just do a bit of everything. And then there’s Road, she’s our youngest and only works here on the weekends with Lulu at the bar.” He told him.

“How are you all related?”

“Adoptive siblings. Although Sheryl and Tyki are real brothers. So are Road and Wisely. So maybe we are more like cousins because we didn’t really grow up together.”

“Oh, so you are all adopted. I am too. My great uncle adopted me when I was around 6. My parents ditched me in the orphanage and my grandparents didn’t want me to live with them, so he picked up and raised me.” He told him. Everyone around him knew his history, so why shouldn’t Allen?

“I’m sorry. I don’t remember my parents, they abandoned me in the streets after I was born. The homeless people took care of me until Mana found me. I was about five, back then. He died just one year later. Then Cross came in and took me with him. And I have to admit, I hated that man. I seriously did. I even thought of poisoning him, but I was in the middle of Kenya with no way back to Liverpool.” He laughed at that memory. “Anyway, that’s a story for another time. Long story short, we don’t hate each other anymore and he is now going out with Neah, who is officially my uncle but he’s sort of my dad too, I guess. So talk about weird.” Lavi laughed before sitting up and collecting their clothes, throwing Allen’s his.

“You are weird. I like it.” He grinned as he slipped into his pants and then shirt. “So, about that shower?”

“Let’s go.” He had left the vest on the sofa, but in the end, he didn’t really needed anyway. They walked downstairs, crossed the dance floor (and he realised that even subconsciously, Allen moved at the beat of whatever song was playing) and went throught the ‘Staff only’ door. Up the stairs, first to the left, second to the left again and the third door.

The room was simple, painted in black and white with touches of red on the bottom of the wall. A king size bed next to the window, a wall TV in front of it surrounded by black shelves covered in books, CDs and photographies. He recognised Nalei and Lenalee in some of them. There was a table with two chairs, a drawer and a closet and then the door that led to the bathroom.

“There are spare towels inside the bathroom.” He told him before kissing him again. “I need to go back to my job or I’ll be getting an earful, but feel free to come back if you want.”

“Well, my friends won’t be getting here for another hour, so I’ll stay up here until they come by, is that alright with you?” He questioned as he started to strip.

“Of course.” Lavi was very aware of the hungry eyes watching him. But damn if it wasn’t a feast on Allen eyes.

“Didn’t you say you had to go back?” He questioned, smirking, which made Allen huff in both amusement and annoyance. “But I’ll give you a strip-tease whenever you ask.”

“That’s good to know.” They kissed one more time before Allen left.


	3. Chapter 3

After he showered and getting his hair as dry as possible, he got dressed again and then decided to quickly check the photographies. There was only one with a dark haired man, whom he guessed would be Mana. Allen looked so happy with him. He said he was five when the man took him in, but he looked like he was three. After that, there were pictures of him with people from all over the planet: Kenya, Zambia, Japan, Tibet, Brazil, Chile, the States, Canada, Spain, Germany, Norway, Australia, Philippines, New Zealand and a few more that weren’t tagged.

And then, all together in a separate area, there were all the ones he had with Nalei and Lenalee. He looked so happy and carefree, and just the size he should have been at age 10 or so. He had a really dark red hair, almost maroon, his eyes a bit lighter and no tattoos covering his face. Even as a kid, he was beautiful and unblemished, unlike him. He had been wearing the patch since he could remember, never being allowed to take it off either in public or at home, until he went to live with his great uncle, whom he had ended up calling grandfather.

“Hey Al, what are you…?” The door opened a small 18ish years old girl with fair skin, blue spiky hair and and dark blue eyes stepped in. “Well, you certainly are not Al. Lavi, I presume?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Oh, intimacy doesn’t really exist in our family. I’m…”

“Road.” He grinned smugly, two could play at that game. “He told me.”

“Huh. Anyway, what are you doing here? You might as well be the first guy he’s let in his room since like, forever.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He usually goes to a motel or something. He never fucks in here.” She exposed blatantly.

“Oh. No. We didn’t do it here, he just let me use the shower. We did it in the studio.” He told her as they headed for the door. “Are you here to work today?”

“Well, according to Sheryl it's going to be a busy night, so yeah, I’m on roll tonight.” She grinned. “I’ll see you later, right?”

“Yeah, my friends are coming over.”

“Sweet! Do you want me to book you a table?”

“You can do that?” he asked, puzzled. What was it with this family that everyone was just so damn crazy and friendly and sexy? Because sure, she was a girl, but her petite silhouette was something that most straight guys would find appealing.

“Of course! How many of you are there going to be?”

“5 including me. But they want Allen to come down, too. So they can meet and reunite in two of the cases.”

“Reunite? Who are you bringing in with you that knows Al from before?”

“Nalei and Lenalee. The two on the photos in his room.”

At that, she stopped dead at her tracks. “You found them? I know he talks with Nalei from time to time, but he lost contact with Lenalee after his accident.” She frowned at that. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“I know about it. Nalei told us everything. I’ve been friends with Lenalee for the last few years, we met in a month-long cruiser. Anyway, the other day she asked if we could go with her to pick a friend of her today at the airport, so we went and then she showed him a video of Allen and he told us everything.”

“Huh. He’ll be happy.” She grinned and then opened the door. “So, a table for six… what time?”

“Around 1am.” He replied.

“You got it!” She grinned and then headed to the bar as he went back to the studio.

He opened the door and stepped in, taking his glass from the shelf before he sat down on the armrest of Allen’s chair. “I just met Road.” He announced.

“Well, how crazy was she?”

“On a scale of one to ten? Probably an 11.” He grinned. “No offense to anyone of your family, but I wouldn’t be so chill if I found a guy in my cousin’s bedroom. Especially if they knew my name.”

“Well, that’s Road for you. Had it been Sheryl, he wouldn’t have been so chill about it.” He grinned as he tweaked a few buttons here and there.

“Overprotective?”

“Very. Especially of Tyki and Road.” He explained. “But, enough of _my_ life, what about yours?”

“Well, certainly not as exciting as yours. I’ve told you the first part, second one basically goes all the time with, what I guess I could call, my best friend, Kanda Yuu. He’s from Japan, but he was adopted by a French man, he has two older brothers that are practically my own, too. We were neighbours, did everything together and then we moved here together, too. I’m a reporter, I work at… the _Daily Express_.” Allen didn’t say anything, but Lavi saw the incredulous side-glance he had thrown at him, but then again, it was a typical reaction to anyone who knew him. “And as of late, Kanda’s childhood friend, Alma, who has upgraded to boyfriend, has been joining us too. Not always, though, he works at a cafe, so he can’t always make it.” He quickly summarised.

“Yeah, doesn’t seem as exciting as mine, but damn if I wouldn’t have liked to settle down as a kid.” He smiled and stretched, smiling. “How old are you, by the way?”

“24. You?”

“22. So I fucked an older guy… Hot.” He was grinning mischievously.

“Oh, it was hot alright.” Lavi laughed before he kissed him again. “Say, can I have your number?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He took the phone that was handed to him and entered his number, profile picture included. “Now you.” He gave him his phone as he went back to his buttons.

* * *

It was easy to spot Lenalee’s green hair in the middle of the crowd, so he stood up and stretched like a cat. “My friends are here. Do you want to come? They are dying to meet you.” He asked.

“Sure. I’ll DJ from downstairs.” He stood up, getting a few devices from a drawer before following the red-haired.

And Lavi couldn’t just wait to see what face would Allen make when he saw Nalei and Lenalee there. He just hoped he wouldn’t get mad at him and tell him to fuck off.

“Hey guys. We are here!” He yelled at them.

And before he could even raise his hand Lenalee and Nalei had sprinted to them and wrapped Allen in a big bear hug.

“Na-Nalei? Lena?” His voice sounded broken and teary as his arms wrapped around them. “What are you doing here?” he asked them.

“Well, I came to pay you both a visit. But I thought I’d find you together!” Nalei said, his own eyes shiny with unshed tears.

Lenalee couldn’t even talk, she was crying and clutching onto them as if her life depended on it. And it was then, that the other trio realised how much she had missed them, how lonely she must have felt at a times.

After a few minutes, the girl had calmed down and had patted her cheeks dry, trying not to ruin her make up even more. Lavi guided them to the table Road had booked them and sat down: Nalei, Lenalee and Allen on side of the table and him, Kanda and Alma on the other. He was in front of Allen.

The DJ had an arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulders. “You ok, Lena?”

“Y-yeah.” She smiled at him, but then it quickly changed into an angry frown, and if there was something everyone in the table knew by heart, it was not to anger her. “Do you know how worried I was? I thought you were dead Allen!” She smacked him on the head repeatedly before he stopped her, grabbing her arms.

“I’m sorry. I really am.” He said. “But I lost all your contact information. Hell, I only had Nalei’s because Shisho knows all the phone numbers of his lovers by heart and he phoned his aunt.”

“So why didn’t you ask him for my number?” She was angry and sad, thinking that he didn’t want anything to do with her anymore.

“I was... in a coma for about three months. Had a minor case of amnesia. When I finally remembered you it was three years later so I thought… that maybe you…” He was having a hard time letting the words out. And before he was aware of his own motion, his hand stretched over the table to grab Lavi’s, and even if the ginger was surprised by it, he squeezed it gently. “I thought that maybe you didn’t remember me anymore, so I thought I shouldn’t bother you anymore.”

She slapped him. And not a light slap, exactly. His head turned around and smacked against the wall behind him, his cheek stinging red with a very clear mark of a hand imprinted on it.

“Oh! Already pissed a girl off, Al?” They looked up and saw a dark haired boy with fair skin, brown eyes and with a lot of shadow on them, next to him there was another one with a long blonde mane and the same brown eyes with  the same amount of eye shadow.

“Oh, get lost you two. Aren’t you supposed to be helping Tyki tonight?” Allen told them.

“And aren’t you supposed to be up there?” The dark-haired one replied.

“Good thing I can work from down here. Now get the fuck out of here.” Giggling, they did.

“The twins, I guess?” Lavi said and Allen nodded.

“Yeah. They are on VIP security today, but they are usually the menace so that’s ok.” With that, he turned around to Lenalee again, taking her hands in his, more as a precaution than anything else. “Forgive me?”

“Oh, you are going to need a lot more than that to make it up to me.” She told him, but a small smile was on her lips.

“Of course Lena.” He kissed her cheek, his arm slipping around her waist. “Anyway, I’m Allen, nice to meet you two.”

“We know who you are. You sent us a video, don’t you remember?” Kanda said, frowning and Lavi sighed: that was it, he wouldn’t see Allen anymore thanks to Yuu.

“Kanda!” Lenalee admonished, frowning at him. Seriously, did he always have to behave like a kid whenever he was introduced to a new person?

“Oh wow. And this is your _best_ friend, Lavi? And here I had thought you had a better taste than that.” The albino replied, egging the Japanese on.

“Well, so did I. God knows what he saw in you, moyashi.”

“Well, he definitely might have been pretty desperate to even talk to you, BaKanda.”

“Hey! I’m Alma Karma.” The half Spaniard swiftly interrupted them as he offered his hand and Allen took it, smiling. “And that one here is my boyfriend.” He said.

“Charming.” Allen scoffed as he turned to face Nalei. “Say Nalei, how is my cousin?”

“What?” Lenalee’s head whipped around to stare at the other male next to her. “You are going out with someone? And how do you _have_ cousins?” It looked as if she was watching a tennis match with all that turning around. “Care to explain? Both of you.”

Allen rubbed the back of his head. “Well, they are not my cousins by blood… Technically we are all adopted siblings. I mean, you probably know most of them, we all work here.” He told her. “Anyway, remember I told you about Mana?” She nodded. “He had a brother, right? Neah, my uncle. So Neah was with another guy a few years ago, Adam I think, I never met him. They had adopted Maashima, Fiidora, Skinn and Maitora at first. Then Sheryl and Tiky. Then they got divorced or whatever. Uncle then adopted the twins, Lulu, Wisely and Road. And because he got together with Cross and he _is_ my uncle, I also became one of the kids.” He quickly summarised. “He’s like a crazy cat lady, but instead of cats, he just got kids.”

“Weird, but you’ve never been normal either.” She stated and Lavi laughed, his hand back with Allen’s. “And you?”

“I uh… Met Wisely when he was in an Erasmus in Spain. He was studying psychology so we had a couple of subjects together.” He explained and damn if Lavi wasn’t having the time of his life. The same person who had pretty much told them all about Allen was now squirming under his two best friend’s gaze and interrogation. He looked at Kanda and Alma, and he saw that they both were entertained by what was happening in front of them.

He noticed Allen brush his thumb across his knuckles and he felt his cheeks heat up a bit. He was certainly not expecting such an intimate touch but he liked it, a lot. It felt odd that he felt closer to a man he had only seen twice than he had with his last boyfriend. He noticed how Yuu looked at him briefly, an almost invisible smile appearing for just a second.

So he liked Allen. Well, at least for him. It was obvious that Yuu and Allen would never like each other, at most, they’d tolerate and try not to kill each other. For his sake. And in case he and Allen got to be something else.

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” He came back to Earth when Lenalee demanded.

“Well for one I didn’t even know he lived in London, so I thought I’d never see him again!” The Indian defended himself. “And how do you even know about it? We agreed not to tell anyone!”

“And you believed him?”

“Well ye…”

“Allen!” They all looked at Lulu who was telling him to go there, so he stood up and went to the bar. “Write down what they want, Road is busy taking notes on the VIP room.”

“I’m working too!” He complained, but took a hold of the notebook and then pen. “Pass me the wires, anyway. I’ll hook the tablet on the ports at the table.” She gave them to him and he went back to the table. “Alright people, what’s it gonna be?”

“Oh, now you are demoted to waiter?” Kanda taunted.

“Yes, and quite gladly. That way I’ll be able to poison you.”

“Why you little…”

“Yuu, sit the fuck down.” Alma said, pulling him down, the younger one huffing, but obeying.

“Exactly, be a good little dog. What do you want?” Allen replied.

“Same as last time.” The Japanese growled.

“Sudachi it is, then. Lenalee?”

“Cosmo, please.”

“Do you have Feni or something?” Nalei asked, eyeing all the bottles on the bar.

“We might. She’s got so many different alcohols in there I’ve lost count. Alma, what are you going to have?”

“Hm… Rum.” The half-Spanish replied and he wrote it down as he turned around.

“Allen, did you forget Lavi?” Lenalee asked, half surprised, half smug.

“Of course not. But, he already has his drink, haven’t you all noticed?” Lavi smiled as he showed them the glass half-filled with the bright beverage.

Allen left and gave Lulu the paper and left her to her concoctions so he could work on linking the tablet to the ports on the table.

“Wait, when did you get here?” Alma asked, looking at the redhead, confused.

“Oh, you know, about two hours before you all did.” He smiled smugly as Allen chuckled.

“So you really didn’t tell them.” Allen sat back down.

“Well, what did you want me to say? ‘Hey guys, I’ll meet you there since I’ll be going sooner so I can get properly fucked’?” He arched an eyebrow and laughed at Lenalee’s face. “See? That’s what happen when you get her thinking about two guys fucking. She totally spaces out.”

“Yeah, she used to be like that when we were kids, too. Always wanted to see us kiss.” Nalei chuckled. “Anyway, how did you know about me and Wisely?”

“C’mon, there is no privacy in my family. We know all about each other, Especially when it comes to sex.” Allen sat down next to Lenalee again, arm again wrapped around her shoulder.

“I can second that. Road knew my name, just like that. Freaked me out I tell you.” Lavi told them, grinning as his foot moved up to Allen’s legs.

The albino looked at him, with an arched eyebrow, but all he did was open his legs slightly wider as he browsed through his music playlists. “Well, all Wise did was walk up to us on dinner and say he had a boyfriend.”

“Smooth.” Lenalee said as soon as she was back from her man-on-man world.

“Hey Al!” A kiss was planted on his cheek when Road appeared, drinks on a tray. “Aren’t you happy?” She asked smugly while leaving the drinks on the table.

And the DJ turned around to eye her, frowning at her words. Well yes, he was happy, he had gotten laid early in the night and he knew that she knew, so why point it out like that? Who on Earth wasn’t happy to get laid? Unless… He looked at the two sitting next to him.

“You knew? You told her?” He looked between his lover and his cousin, confused.

“Well, she booked the table for me, so I thought I should tell her.” Lavi explained, grinning. “And of course I wouldn’t tell you, where would the surprise factor have gone, then?” He smiled at him, not cocky, not smugly, just a sweet smile that had Allen’s stomach twisting in a particularly warm way.

“Thank you.” He leaned over the table and kissed him on the lips, a hand resting on his cheek.

“No problem.” He replied.

They kept talking (and growling in case of Kanda and Allen when interacting with each other) until Lenalee stood up and grabbed a hold of Allen. “I said you’d have to make it up to me, right? Well, first step is dancing with me.” Nalei laughed at Allen’s mortified expression: he was very aware of how much he hated dancing to pop, and that genre was Lenalee’s favourite. “Oh, don’t you laugh too much Nalei Mehra, you are next.”

That cut his laugh at once alright. “What? What did I do?”

“Not telling me about having a boyfriend, of course. And be careful or I’ll make you dance with each other.” She threatened.

“Let’s… let’s go to the dance floor, yeah?” Allen quickly said, pulling her to go there, but not before changing the music to something more soothing to his years. Granted, it was not nightcore, but it was something better than One Direction. Hell, did he hate them, so he settled down with Ricky Martin’s ‘Livin’ la vida loca’, at least that one was danceable.

Lavi watched them dance, his vision solely focused on the albino’s movement, the way gises, the way his hips swayed, his slightly loose hair right in tow, his hands resting on the girl’s side and the smile on his face. And yet, with all the sexy movements, he realised they were not nearly close to how sexy they had been when they had danced.

When they came back, she dragged Nalei to the dance floor much the Indian’s dismay and Allen, being the little shit he was, just smiled as he took a hold of his tablet and changed the song to a slow one. Alma, Lavi and himself broke down in a hysteric laugh fit (and even Kanda snickered) at Nalei’s mortified look as he glanced at them, his eyes throwing daggers at the albino, who just winked at him.

When the dance was finished and Nalei had hit Allen on the head the DJ announced he had to go back to his studio, Nalei tagging along. And Lavi felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Jealousy. Even if he knew that they were childhood friends and it was more than likely that nothing would go between them given that Nalei was going out with Allen’s cousin but yet… To see him laugh with someone else and lean against someone else’s touch made him see red.

“Don’t worry Lavi, Nalei would never have sex with Ally.” Lenalee said, smiling a little too smugly for his comfort. “They are like brothers. It be as if you and Kanda had sex.” They looked at each other and grimaced. “Yeah, that’s the same face they pulled when I told them to kiss.” She sighed. “Would you two…”

“Hell no!” They both yelled, Alma laughing hysterically again next to Kanda.

* * *

“Wow.” Nalei whistled as he entered the room. “That, is impressive.” He flopped down on the sofa and then looked at him questioningly. “Is it safe to sit here?”

“Well… We did have sex there, but it was a month ago and I have had it cleaned. I wouldn’t lean against the door, though.” He smirked and Nalei laughed.

“And you said you’d change your attitude!” He sat down properly and looked at him. “How’s Cross?”

“Fairy well now that he finally settled down. He’s planning to ask Neah to marry him.”

“No way. Cross Marian, the biggest playboy I’ve ever seen is planning to get married?”

“I know, right? When he told me I thought he was joking. He had to pull the ring out so I’d believe him. How’s your aunt?”

“Perfectly healthy. And wealthy, the casino works perfectly! She also wants you to go there and show them how it’s done.”

Allen chuckled at that, turning around. “She wants me to ruin her?”

“That’s what I said!” He told him, both of them laughing like they did in the old days before Nalei got a slightly more serious look on his face. “How are you?”

Allen looked at him before sighing in exasperation. “Jesus, Nalei, just because I had an accident six years ago doesn’t mean I’ll be traumatised forever! I am fine.” He told him for the millionth time after six years. “Look, I know you worry, but I’m fine, alright? I have a family, my best friends back, a job I love and…” He frowned, confused with himself. He didn’t have anything else, not that he needed it, but it was as if his brain considered that something he hadn’t had before was already his.

“Lavi, might be the word you are looking for.” He looked at him, startled. How did he know? And why the fuck was the little shit smiling so smugly? “Oh c’mon, don’t look at me like that. I have never, _never_ , seen you act this way towards a guy like you have tonight. I mean, Al, you looked for his hand, you let him hold your hand. I’ve never seen you do that with anyone who wasn’t me or anyone from outside your family. And you kissed him in thanks. That is not how you behave. And I have known you since we were six.” Allen frowned, because it was true, he did all those things and he didn’t even plan them. They had just happened. He heard his best friend sigh and he looked at him questioningly. “You like him, don’t you?”

He blushed. His whole face felt on fire just by that simple question. Because all it had taken was for someone to ask that for him to realise that yes, he did like Lavi, at least on a physical lever.

“How can you, of all people, blush? You are one of the most kinky people I’ve ever met and yet you blush when I ask if you like him.” He chuckled and stood up, going next to him. “So you do, huh?”

“Well yeah, I mean, have you _seen_ him? How am I supposed to not like him?” He was quick to recover, though. “And he is just so good in bed, in both top and bottom.” He sighed as he changed the track and made his arrangements to it as he talked to Nalei. “Didn’t ask about my arm or my face, or anything. Granted, it’s probably because of his eyepatch, but he didn’t care. And he… He wanted to know me. We talked.”

Nalei nodded in understandment. Allen was not used to people just ignoring his whole tattooed arm, or his face, or his hair, his whole appearance in general screamed weirdo, and while before the accident he was as open as a book when it came to making friends, after it he happened he closed himself off, always feeling and hearing people whisper and mutter around him.

He remembered it all too well. He was there. Cross had called in the middle of the night, begging him to come live with them for a short while. Begging. He had never seen the man beg, especially not if it concerned Allen, but after the crash they had changed, they depended on each other so much that their relationship took a huge change for the better.

He moved in for a little under a month, Allen quickly opening up to him, being certain that he wouldn’t refuse him. However, he never went back to being the same person. He was as bubbly, sarcastic and ironic as he had been, but never as friendly, so on the rare occasion someone didn’t comment about his looks, he took a likening to them almost immediately. It used to worry him a lot, but he realised that Allen was aware of what companies were good for him and which were not, so he stopped worrying after a while. Besides, he spent half of his time with his huge family.

When he saw Lavi just earlier that day, he knew he was good for Allen. And when he gave him support as he talked to Lenalee without knowing the story beforehand, he knew they’d be together sooner or later.

“Will you tell him?”

“Of course. Just not yet. I mean, today was the second time we saw each other.” He said.

“Well, makes sense. And for the record, he has that video you recorded on his phone as one of his favourites.” He watched how Allen smiled smugly and smiled: yeah, definitely same old Allen.

* * *

They had fallen in a routine of meeting every two weeks (or more, depending on how busy they were) at the club to have sex and then talk. Allen would be already working and Lavi would just come in and let him do his thing as he worked on his articles and when Allen had programmed enough music to last for as long as they were wrapped around the other. Then they would go down to Lulu and get their drinks and back to the studio. And by the fifth time Lavi had went there, he already met everyone. Out of all of them, Sheryl was the most intimidating, he really had a big brother complex with all his youngest siblings.

“Hey Lavi.” Skinn greeted him. He didn’t have to pay entrance anymore either since he didn’t really make use of the installations and he always paid for his drinks.

“Hey Skinn. Where’s Maa?” He asked, fist-bumping him.

“He went with Neah to pick up Cross at the airport.” He told him. “Are they your friends?” He pointed at the quartet behind him. “They have to pay.”

“Of course.” He didn’t expect them not having to pay, he was just glad _he_ didn't have to and that he let them in without having to line up. What was it with Brits and queuing? “You heard the man guys, pay up.”

Lenalee, Nalei and Alma had confused faces, Kanda just rolling his eyes. They sat down in one of the free tables and Lulu waved at the two girls.

“Hey Lavi!” Road yelled from the other side. “Same as usual?”

“Please! Put in my tab!” He yelled back before sitting next to Nalei.

“You have a _tab_? At a club?” Alma questioned, dumbfounded.

“He comes here practically every week, why do you think he doesn’t pay entrance?” Yuu replied, smirking.

“And you come by your own? Lavi!” Lenalee whined. “You should invite us to come with you!”

“To what? Having sex with Allen?” He arched an eyebrow as he looked at her. “I mean, I wouldn’t have a problem to you watching but…” She blushed softly at that. “I don’t pay entrance because I rarely am down here.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to start coming to see Wisely here, then.” Nalei said and they high-fived, laughing.

“You two are impossible.” Lenalee said, shaking her head.

Road came with Lavi usual Jungle in hand, took their orders and came back with some peanuts for them to eat. “Want me to call Allen down?” She asked them.

“Let him be for now. I’ll text him later on.” Lavi told her.

“Alright! See you around.”

  


It was 1am when Allen received a text.

_Bunny: Hey sexy, we are downstairs, come and join us, will ya?_ He snickered at the sexy thing, but hey, Lavi could be corny like that.

_Sure, should I grab Wisely on my way down?_

_Bunny: Of course! You shouldn’t even ask this!_

And with that, he grabbed his tablet, his glass and went to the offices, where he knew his cousin would be at. “Yo Wise, get your ass off that chair and come downstair.” He said as he opened the door.

“Why?”

“Because Nalei is here and his friends want to meet you and I’m the messenger, so get up.”

“In other words, Lavi told you to get me.” He replied as a smirk graced his features.

“Tomato-tomahto.” He grinned as they walked outside and crossed the dance floor, first making their stop to Lulu and getting their glasses refilled. “Hey bun.” Allen said before kissing him on the lips, his tongue slipping inside the elder’s mouth as Wisely talked with Lulu and his sister for a moment.

“Hi kit.” The ginger replied as he let him sit on his lap. “Also, the albino over there is Wisely.”

Lenalee turned her head so quickly, Allen feared it would snap off. Thankfully, it didn’t. Wisely looked, for some reason, a lot like Allen. His hair was short and spiky, with the same odd colour Allen had, and it didn’t seem dyed either. He was a bit shorter than Allen but about the same height than Nalein, he had fair skin, but not as much as his sister. He had a black and white scarf wrapped around his neck, his eyes a chestnut-amberish colour. He looked more serious than Allen, but that wasn’t hard to top.

“Hi babe!” Nalein smiled when he reached their side, chair in hand.

“Hi.” He bent over and kissed him on the lips, lightly. It was easy to see that he was also much more reserved than his cousin, which fitted a lot better with Nalei himself. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“I didn’t know you were working tonight.” He shrugged and sipped his drink. “Anyway, babe, these are Kanda, Alma and Lenalee. I presume you know Lavi?”

“We _all_ know him. Should put him in a checkroll with how much he helps.” Kanda looked at Lavi at that, his stern look promising to talk about it later on at home.

“Hm. Maybe we should.” Allen mused, and they all knew that they were being serious about it.

“Sorry for you guys, but I already have a job.” Kanda snorted at that, frowning, but said nothing about it.

“Bet it’s funnier here, though.” Allen said as he fumbled with the table and the ports and then changing the song to ‘All star’ by Smash mouth.

They talked about this and that, Wisely getting to know his boyfriend’s friends and finding them highly amusing, especially Alma. Lenalee he had known through both Allen and Nalei. Lavi was known by everybody in the club already, and it was hard not to like him since he was always ready to lend a hand to do this and that, usually after the club had closed. Kanda, on the other hand, while not being friendly at all and quiet most of the time, had his respect for being able to go back and forth with Allen.

“Guys, we should get going.” Lenalee announced at 3am. “Alma still has to go to work tomorrow and us three are in our finals.”

“Thanks for the reminder, Lena.” Kanda grumbled as he stood up, hand slipping into Alma’s pocket. “Lavi, what are you going to do?”

“Guess I’ll leave now too. I need to finish off the article by Monday.” He replied as Allen stood up to let him do so too.

The cousins walked them to the door, Nalei kissing his boyfriend quickly on the lips goodbye as the other two just made out, Lavi drawing a moan from Allen. “See you around?”

“Most definitely.” The DJ grinned and winked at him. He didn’t understand why Lavi would almost always ask this, but well, he could ask him some other time when they were alone. “Have a good night.”

“You too.” And with that, he and Kanda left.

The remaining three were almost by their car, when Nalei turned around and yelled. “By the way Al, we so need to do something the three of us together like the old times!”

“Hell yeah!” He replied, voice equally as loud. “But I wouldn’t say so in front of your boyfriend, Mehra, he’ll get jealous!”

“Of what? You? He knows I wouldn’t touch you like that with a ten meter pole!”

Allen laughed before flipping him off, as they both turned around. “So, when are you planning to ask him out?” Wisely asked when they were alone in Allen’s studio.

“What?”

“C’mon Al. Do you think we don’t see it? You _like_ him. And don’t bother denying it, Nalei told me you admitted to him.” He smirked and Allen huffed.

“Gossipers, both of you.” Wisley shrugged and sat down.

“But for real, are you planning to ask him out? A date, at least?”

“Well yeah, I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to do something cliche like going to the cinema or to the London eye to see the view at night. That wouldn’t be… us.”

Wisely smiled: so he _had_ been giving it some actual thought. It had worried everyone in the family when they saw Allen act like Cross before he settled down with Neah, but no one knew how to approach the subject, not even Tyki who was the closest to him out of them all. But then, after a few months, it had stopped, as if he had gone cold turkey. And when Lavi appeared, they had held their breaths and waited to see if he had gone back to his old ways. But he hadn’t. He had waited until Lavi came back, and after that they had settled down with each other, at least for the sex part. And to hear that Allen had been thinking about Lavi being his boyfriend eased his mind a lot. One less thing to worry about.

“I’ll leave you to your thoughts and music.” He said as a farewell, the only answer an absent-minded hum.

* * *

“Would you take it?” Kanda had asked as soon as they crossed the threshold. It was a rule of theirs not to talk about serious stuff out of the house.

“Take what?”

“A job at Noah’s Arc. Would you take it if they offered it for real?” He passed his jacket to Lavi so he could hang it as he took the ginger’s shoes.

“And what would I do there? I studied Periodism, not Mixology.” Lavi replied, rolling his eye.

“It’d be a change for the better that’s for sure.” Yuu sighed and flopped down on the sofa, sighing. “I mean, moyashi would probably happy to get you a job. He seems to like you and you like him, and his family hasn’t killed you yet, so that must mean they don’t find you insufferable.”

“I thought you didn’t like Allen.”

“I still think he’s a moron, but you like him so I guess I can… put up with him. For you?” Lavi turned his head and stared at him before hugging Kanda.

“Aw Yuu! Thank you!” He pressed his forehead against the Japanese’s shoulder. “I really mean it. Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t mention it, now let me go.” He pushed him away. “And shouldn’t you ask him out or something? You’ve been going there for almost four months now.”

“That much?”

“Yeah.”

“I really should, huh? I don’t think I have ever felt that way since… I don’t even know. Maybe since never.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I just don’t know what to do. Movies? Boring. London Eye? He’s from here, he must know London like the back of his hand.”

“Talk to Lenalee and Nalei, they should be able to help you with that moron.” Lavi nodded in agreement, they were Allen’s best friends. “Anyhow, please do think about accepting a job there if they were to offer. It may not be your thing, but it won’t be worse that in that shithole you call work.”

“Ok. I’ll think about it.” Yuu stood up and started to go to to his room when Lavi spoke again. “Thanks for worrying.”

“Don’t thank me for that, idiot.” He smiled for a second before closing the door to his room.

* * *

“You want to take Ally on a date!?” Lenalee half exclaimed, half cooed, totally pleased with his idea of taking the albino out.

“Y-yeah. But I don’t know what to do.”

“Hm…” She scrunched her face, Nalei couldn’t made it because he was in his finals, but said to keep him posted through WhatsApp. “Ok, what do you two have in common? Let’s make a list.” She pulled a notebook and a pen out of her purse. “Let’s start with what he likes.”

“Uh… We like each other?” He offered, only to be glared at. “Hum… Reading, he likes reading novels, especially Bradbury. Doesn’t watch TV much, most of the films he watches he does it on internet. Food. He eats anything you put in front of him. Music, of course. Metal, rock, nightcore and classical, mostly. Oh, MMA.”

“Martial Arts?” She cocked an eyebrow.

“Yeah, he only does it for fun, but he likes training and sparring since he can’t move much in the club.” He told her absentmindedly, sipping on his water. “He tried to do kendo, but they kicked him out because his fighting style is more like brawling instead of kendo.”

“Ah yeah, Cross taught him to fight when he was a kid.” She said. “Never told us why, though.”

“Because Cross owed money to pretty much everyone he knew and he taught him so he could defend himself.” Lavi explained.

Lenalee was speechless: Lavi just knew so much that she didn’t. It made her slightly sad, seeing that Lavi was becoming more important to Allen than Nalei or herself, and yet she couldn’t help but be happy for the both of them.

“Ok, what else? I remember he liked animals, too.”

“Yeah. He said he wanted to adopt a cat.”

“Cat? Too bad for you, huh?” Lavi growled and pulled a face: he and cats did not like each other. The little furry things where just the Evil incarnated. “Maybe you could talk him into getting a dog.”

He shook his head before sighing. “Why is dating so difficult, Lenalee?” He questioned her.

“It’s not. You just want to make things right this time.” She smiled and flipped the page. “Ok, what do _you_ like?”

“Nightcore. Reading. Writing. Watching TV, especially history documentaries. Dogs. Traveling. Food, as long as it isn’t English.” He listed.

Lenalee wrote it down and compared the two lists. “Okay Lavi, so you both like nightcore, food and reading.” That list was awesomely… short. “What about politics? Do you know what he voted for the Brexit?”

“He didn’t. Said, and I quote, ‘They can do whatever they want, in, out… In the end, it’s the same people ruling us and making us go wherever they want and at the pace they desire.’ It was so deep, really, having in mind he was naked and patting his hair down.” He snickered at the end, the image flooding back into his mind.

“You talk about politics after getting laid? Is there any colder topic than that?”

“I find it extremely interesting, thank you very much. And there is, weather, for example. Oh, he loves his soccer, too.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.” Lenalee told him, sipping on her tea.

“What?”

“Football. He hates it when someone calls it soccer. Hell, all Europeans hate it, so don’t let them catch you saying it too loud.”

“Point taken.” He grinned. He did recall having some very nasty glances thrown at him and Kanda whenever they said that word in public.

“What about Poker? Does he still play?” She asked.

“Poker? What do you mean?” Lavi frowned, confused: Allen had never mentioned poker before.

“He hasn’t told you? Allen is one of the best gamblers in the world. He can win anything: poker, Blackjack, Roulette, Dices, fair stalls… His specialty is cards. If he plays in a bar he will cheat everybody out of their clothes after taking everything else they have, if he plays in a casino, he will just watch people pay until he has unrigged the games, then he goes in and wins everything.”

“Huh. He never did mention that.”

“Should ask him. But you might be in for a two to three hours long story.” She told him.

Lavi shrugged: he loved hearing Allen talk. Especially when it was about something the albino was passionate about.

“Oh, I need to go!” She exclaimed, standing up and wrapping the scarf around her neck. “Here, keep the notebook, think about it. Text us if you come up with something or need help. Love you.” She kissed his cheek and disappeared down the street.


	4. Chapter 4

“Dad!” He hit the man on the ribs with his elbow, blushing hard. They were in his room in the club. He had been showering when the door opened and his boisterous father figure stepped in, yelling his name.

“Seriously? Now, you are blushing?” The man asked. “After all the things you and that infamous Lavi have probably done, you are blushing at the prospect of asking him out? I thought I had taught you better than that.”

“Oh shut up Shisho. You didn’t teach me shit when it came to _actual_ dating.”

“Now what is that supposed to mean brat?”

“You know perfectly what I mean.” The boy huffed, and dropped the towel to get dressed.

“So, how’d the two of you meet anyway? You haven’t chased anyone around for months now.” There was an undertone of worry in his voice and the DJ felt his heart clench at that as he slipped into his pants

“He was at the bar when I came down for a drink. Lulu pointed him out to me, he came to me, I asked for a dance, he said he would if I changed the music, so I did. And then we went to the studio.” He put on a black tank top and then a hoodie 2 sizes too big for him, but he liked his hoodies baggy.

“And? Have you been meeting after that?”

“Of course. He comes by once a week, usually Fridays. Twice a week sometimes.” At that, Cross frowned deeply at him. “What?”

“You haven’t met him outside form the club?”

“No. Not yet, at least.” He took a towel and started to dry his hair off before pulling it up in a bun.

“You should ask him, though. He may not stick around forever.”

“Says the man that took 15 years to ask his high school sweetheart out on a date.” Allen replied, rolling his eyes.

“That was uncalled for.” He was used to the boy sassing him, hell, he raised him and he would have been disappointed if Allen hadn’t turned like this, he wanted the kid to stand for himself, but he had not expected such a low blow.

“Whatever dad.” He walked passed him and to the door, the man after him.

“Really? Ignoring me is the next step now?” Cross questioned when they reached the studio, the club starting to let the VIP customers in.

“It will be if you can't keep out of my relationship with Lavi.” Allen sat down on his chair, plugging his beloved earphones.

“I just don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did, alright?” He turned the chair around, one arm next to the albino’s head.

“I know you worry about me, alright? And I get it, but back off. I’m not a little kid anymore, Shisho, I can take care of my own. Besides, Nalei is helping me with it.”

“He might be, but I know you and…” The door unlocked and they both turned around staring at the ginger in there.

“Oh. I’m sorry to interrupt, I’ll come back later.” Lavi said, starting to close the door.

“Don’t.” Allen said, pushing Cross off gently with a hand on his chest so he could stand up, and then going to his lover, kissing him on the lips sweetly, pressing himself to him, hands buried in red hair. Lavi kissed his nose when they split up. “This is my father, Cross. Told you about him.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Lavi let his left hand fall on the small of Allen’s back, offering his right one to Cross in a handshake. “I’m Lavi. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Marian.”

“Ah, the famous Lavi. This brat has been talking quite a lot about you recently.” He shook the offered hand.

“Fuck off, Shisho.” Allen growled at him, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll talk later.”

“Whatever.” And with that, the oldest in the room left, closing the door behind him. “You came sooner than usual.”

“Yeah. I thought there’d be traffic jam, so I left home sooner, but there wasn’t and I ended up here much earlier than I had expected. Do you want me to go downstairs? You know I don’t mind.” He offered.

“You don’t have to. I… like it when you are here.” He frowned, thinking that it didn’t come out exactly like he wanted. “Not just because of the sex, I mean. I like it when we talk and stuff if you know what I mean.”

“Of course. I like it too.” Lavi kissed his cheek and sat on the sofa. “Actually, do you mind if I take a quick nap? Work has been hard this past week.” He asked.

“Of course not. Do you want to go to my room?” He suggested.

“No need. This couch of yours is surprisingly comfortable, besides, I’ll like watching you work.” A lovely blush spread through Allen’s cheeks: he was not used to people complimenting him this way.

“I... Are the others coming tonight?” He questioned, successfully changing the topic, though definitely not swiftly.

“Not that I know of.” He replied and lay down on his stomach, pillowing his head on his own arms. “Good night kit.”

“Goodnight bunny.” He replied, more by reflex than anything.

  


When he woke up, Allen wasn’t there, so he presumed he was down by the bar with Lulu, so he stretched and let himself fall back into the sofa, staring at the grey ceiling. He wanted to ask Allen out for a date, at least one, before he confessed to him in some cheesy way.

And he had no idea of where to take him yet.

“Oh. You are awake.” He looked up and grinned. Allen smiled and sat down next to him, carding his hair in his fingers. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah. As I said, very comfy sofa.” He sighed and sat up, looking at his feet. “Al? Can I ask you something very crazy?”

The albino blinked at that, confused. Something crazy? Sure, he liked crazy, but he had no idea what kind of crazy Lavi meant; they had never had a problem when it came down to kinks and sex in general and strange topics to talk about, so what could he be talking about to ask him permission?

“Uh… Sure, what is it?”

Lavi took a deep breath and decided to say it as if he was pulling a band aid: quick, easy and in one go. “Would you go out on a date with me?”

That was something he was _not_ expecting. To be asked out on a date. That hadn’t happened to him for the last 5 years, he was used to be the one doing the taking. Then again, he had never let anyone as close as Lavi, hadn’t felt this comfortable around someone since the accident, not even with his last boyfriend. And it warmed him inside that Lavi would like to take him out, that it wasn’t just him that would like to take another step in their relationship. They had the sex-ground covered, they had the trust-ground covered, so why not cover the like/love one? It only made sense to him.

“Allen? We don’t have to if you don’t want to. We can keep doing this, I don’t mind.” The DJ frowned and turned around, watching him: the redhead was wringing his hands together, face scowling and blushing.

“Don’t be stupid, Lavi. How could I not want to go on a date with you?” He asked, arching an eyebrow before kissing him on the lips, quickly climbing on his lap. “I mean, if you hadn’t asked it, I would have any day now.”

“You would?”

“Of course. You are the first person who hasn’t tried to force me to talk about my hair and my arm and my face. And you never bitched about only meeting here.” He told him, resting his head on his shoulder. “And you seem to get along with my family, which doesn’t usually happen. People tend to say they are freaks and that I should pull away from them.” He frowned at that, he hated it when people tried to make him break ties with his _family_.

“Why should I? They are your family, I know how important family is.” He smiled sadly and Allen mirrored it, wrapping his arms around him. “Also, they are nice and welcoming, they’ve never said anything bad about me to my face and they don’t mind me hanging out with you or with them. Hell, Lulu said I should be working at the bar with her more than once!” He exclaimed.

That brought a memory back. “Hey Lavi, what’s wrong with your work place?” He noticed how his lover tensed up, but said nothing about it.

“Nothing. Why?” Oh, he was being defensive now.

“Kanda always looks ready to kill someone whenever someone mentions your job.” He explained, pulling away so they could be face to face. Lavi looked so… upset right now that his stomach churned in a very unpleasant way. Thinking that he had made his usually bubble and cheerful lover feel like this made him angry at himself. “You don’t have to tell me if you aren’t ready. I didn’t mean to force myself on you.” He told him.

“It’s nothing, really. You know Yuu, he gets mad about things really easy. I… had trouble with my boss once, he… punched me and Kanda looked like he was going to skin him alive, so whenever the topic of my job is brought up he just remembers that time.” Lavi kissed his neck. “Don’t worry, ok? It was almost over an year ago.” He lied, but he was good at that. “Now that I think about it, Lenalee said something interesting about you.”

“Yeah?” He stood up and went back to his chair, his fingers moving once more over the console. “What did she say?”

“Called you a cheater.”

That made him stop dead on his moves, slowly turning around, fear in his eyes. “I… I swear I never cheated on anybody! Always made it clear that I just wanted something with no strings and telling them before moving on and…”

“What?” Lavi stared at him for a couple of seconds before he understood. “Oh, no, no. Not that kind of cheater. A cards cheater. Said you always cheat when you are playing cards.”

“Oh. Yeah, then she’s right.” He grinned. Darkly. And surprisingly, even if Allen’s expression had a much darker and crueler expression than usual, it sent shivers down his spine: he looked so hot right now that all he wanted to do was to be fucked mercilessly. Oh God, he was just getting kinkier and kinkier since he found Allen. And he loved it. “I started playing when Cross spent his money faster than I could make it, so poker started to be a good way of making some more, but to no avail because he still spent it all with no second thoughts.”

And that was how Lavi did find himself in a two hours long story, with some pauses to change the music, look for something in a drawer or take a sip of cognac. He also learned that Allen was banned from all casinos in Las Vegas and couldn’t set a food in Montecarlo, he had been banned from some other casinos across Europe and Asia, but he was still allowed to all the red district bars, pubs and brothels to play. And he prefered it this way, apparently, because thugs and drunks had a tendency of underestimating his abilities and because he was a little sadistic fucker, he loved to humiliate them and leave them with nothing but their undies.

“You are evil.” He drawled from his spot on the sofa, eyeing him.

“Born and proud.” He grinned and stood up. “Let’s get something to drink?”

“Sure.” He stood up and took his hand. “This ok?”

“Of course!” Allen kissed his cheek and smiled. “I’m… really happy you want to take me on a date.”

Lavi arched an eyebrow, not used to seeing him being so humble. “Of course I’d want to take you on a date. I don’t want to sound cliche and all, but you are different from all the other guys I ever dated or hooked up with.”

“Right back at you.” When they neared the bar Lulu arched an eyebrow at their holding hands.

They sat down on two of the free stools as she served them their usuals. “So, who was it?” She asked when she was back.

“Me. And he said yes.” Lavi replied, grinning.

“Of course he said yes. Believe me, we all knew that he’d say yes.” She frowned at that. “Which means I own 50 pounds to Tyki.”

Before Lavi could ask why, Allen was already huffing. “Seriously? You placed a bet on us?” The ginger made a weird sound with his throat, amused at their antics, and yet somehow, it didn’t surprise him.

“Wasn’t it you who placed a bet on Cross and Neah, the twins and Krory _and_ Sheryl and Tricia?” She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“You forgot yourself and Mimi.” He reminded her, grinning. “But hey, _I_ am the gambler of the family, I bet on everything I can, what’s your excuse?”

“Tyki started it.” She looked up and waved. “Neah’s coming.” She announced and Allen turned around, looking as excited as three years old in a candy store. Or probably like himself in a candy store, Lavi was sure there wasn’t much difference.

“Uncle!” He jumped and hugged the man, who corresponded to the gesture with a hug and a kiss on his temple. “Dad didn’t say you were coming too!”

“I wasn’t going to, but I wanted to check on all of you.” He told him, smiling sweetly. “How are you doing?”

“Oh I’m fine!” He look behind him and smiled sheepishly. “This is… hum… Lavi. I told you about him on the phone?” He told him.

“Of course.” Neah advanced to the boy and smiled. “Neah D. Campbell, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Lavi Bookman.” He shook his hand. “Likewise, Allen’s told me about you.” He said.

“That’s good to know.” He said and then turned to the woman. “Lulu, dear, pour me a glass of Lagavulin, will you?”

“Of course Neah.” She said and went to do so.

“Allen, Lavi, why don’t you go get a table? I’ll be right with you.”

“Sure uncle!” Allen tugged Lavi to move to their usual table. “You alright bun?”

He nodded, bending to kiss him. But he was freaking out; he had just met the man and he was going to get The talk already? For God’s sake, he wanted to have the date before that came! What if Neah didn’t like him? What if he told Allen that they shouldn’t be together? He didn’t want that. He liked Allen. A lot. And he had no problem admitting that to whomever asked. He could see something he hadn’t seen with his other boyfriends: a future. He could see Allen and himself living together in an apartment. Allen working at the club Lavi at a newspapers editorial, going to have dinner somewhere, meeting with the guys every now and then.

He jumped a bit when Neah sat in front of them, Allen’s hand on his knee in reassurance.

“So, Lavi, where did you grow up?” Neah asked.

“San Francisco. Although I’m originally from Iowa Falls.” He answered.

“I love San Francisco. Such a beautiful city.” The man said. “How old are you, by the way? Same as Allen?”

“No. T-two years older.” Ok, this _definitely_ was an interrogation.

“That’s perfect. Let’s see if you can put some sense into his head.” The DJ huffed at that and rolled his eyes as he went through the songs and picked a slow one, hopefully people would tune their voices down a bit now. “Don’t be like that, dear, one of this days they’ll call us from the police department to say you have gotten involved in another fight. Remember last time?”

“Oh? You’ve been arrested?” Now that was something he was interesting in.

“It was only once. And I was just defending myself, he was the one who tried and grope me.” Allen growled. “How is it my fault if he broke his nose against the counter? He tripped.”

“Uh-huh. And the three cracked ribs?” Neah questioned.

“He tripped real hard.” He replied, his arms crossed over his chest and Neah chuckled.

“Of course he did dear.” He said in a very patronising voice and then turned to the redhead, who was grinning amusedly. “See what I’m talking about?

“I do now. You never told me about you being arrested.”

“For a reason.” Allen groaned and took a gulp of his drink. “People don’t usually like people who’ve been in arrested.”

“Don’t worry. Kanda and I also spent a night behind bars.”

“What?” Both nephew and uncle turned to look at him with wide eyes. “Why?”

“We uh… We were seventeen and had snuck into our old High School to get the answers from a test. We did get them but the police caught us sneaking out and thought we were trying to steal the laptop there. We didn’t go to trials, but we did get expelled from the school for three weeks. We were just lucky that my grandfather and his father never heard about the real reason we were there or we would be dead.”

“Oh god, you certainly are made for each other.” Neah complained, sighing. But inside he was happy that his beloved nephew had finally found someone who could match his antics. “Anyway, Allen said you are living with a friend of yours, aren’t your parents worried that you are living in another country at such a young age?”

His parents? Probably not, seeing how they got rid of him when he was just a kid. It made his heart clench thinking about them and when he shook slightly, Allen intervened, swiftly. “Ah, uncle, we better drop this topic, yeah?”

“Of course dear. Lavi, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Neah took the hand Allen wasn’t holding in his and patted it slowly. “I’m sorry, and just remember that even if they didn’t want you, you’ll always have a place in here.”

“Wha-what?” He looked at him, confused. Was Neah really trusting him this much? They had met barely fifteen minutes ago.

“The boys have told me how much you help around, and I can see how much you two really care for the other. So, if you ever want to change your job, we’d be happy to have you here. Allen said you are a reporter, right?”

“Yeah. I’m working at the _Daily Express_ for now.” Neah arched an eyebrow, but just like Allen had done when they first met, said nothing about it.

“Neah!” They all turned around and saw Road, coming at them before she jumped at the man’s arms. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, dear.”

Allen and Lavi left them alone, going back to the studio. The dance floor was almost empty as it was almost 5.30am and the club was about to close (during the weekdays and Sundays they closed at 4.45 instead of at 6.30 like they did on Fridays and Saturdays, Lavi had learned after a few times).

“Lavi?” Allen called as he changed the music to a softer one since most of the people left were couple.

“Yeah?” He was sitting back on the sofa, which he could say it was basically his own sofa by now.

“I think it’s raining, do you want to spend the night here?” He asked, turning to look at him.

Allen watched Lavi sitting there, blinking like an owl, but could he blame him? Not really, that was the first time he asked the older one if he wanted to stay the night. Sure, they cuddled and talked after having sex, but Lavi had never slept next to him nor the other way around.

He felt happy: Allen felt comfortable enough with him to already sleep at the same bed, with or without sex involved. And he was excited to hold him in his arms just like that.

“That would be awesome.” He replied and smiled. “Thank you.”

“For what? I just don’t want you to be outside with that weather. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” He mumbled and Lavi chuckled, standing up and kissing the side of his head.

“You are so good to me.” He whispered, his lips lingering for a while. “I’ll go outside and call Kanda, all right?” The albino rolled his eyes at the mention of the Japanese, but nodded.

Lavi stepped outside the club, watching the rain pouring down.

“ **It’s fucking 4.36am, what the fuck do you want now?”**

“Nothing. I just wanted to tell you I’ll be sleeping here tonight so you don’t freak out tomorrow morning when I’m not there.”

“ **I wouldn’t have.”**

“Of course not.” He bit the inside of his cheek: Kanda was so bad at lying.

“ **And why are you staying now? You never stayed before.”** He sounded suspicious, sleepy, but suspicious.

“I… asked him out? For a date, I mean.”

“ **You have?”** He sounded surprised at that, but Lavi understood why, he was not one to ask people out. He never felt comfortable doing so, feeling like he was somehow imposing himself on the other. “ **How come?”**

“I just… He’s not like the others Yuu-chan, even now he has never asked about my patch, he never commented on my workplace… It’s like he… just understands me to levels the others couldn’t even hope to get.” He told him, mumbling.

“ **I get it.”** It had been the same for him and Alma, sure, they had known each other, but Alma rarely pressed Yuu to do anything. “ **Well, I guess that means I’ll have to stand the moron even more?”**

“Yeah.” He grinned.

“ **I swear to God that if he annoys me too much I’ll slice him with Mugen.”**

“Of course, Yuu. Anyway, it’s raining cats and dogs here, I’ll go back inside. Good night.”

“ **I was having a good one before you called.”** There was a long pause before he talked again. “ **Thanks for telling me.”**

“Of course.” He hung up and went back inside, picking some glasses that people had forgotten and bringing them to Lulu. “Was it a good night?”

“I’ve seen better, but I’ve seen worse too.” She replied as she took the glasses from his hands. “Thanks.”

“Need my help for anything else?”

She chuckled and shooed him with her hands. “Go back upstairs, it’s not like you work here. The twins will help me so you two can go do whatever you want.”

“Alright, thanks!” He made it to leave, but turned around again. “You are all… fine with us dating, right?” He asked, frowning. He never told Allen, but his family were a bit terrifying to say the least; they were all so overprotective of each other he was still amazed they let him get close to Allen at all.

“Of course we are. You are good to him. And we like you.” She winked before turning around. “Now get the hell out of here.”

“Yes ma’am.” He turned around and walked away from the bar, leaving her alone and went back to the studio, and as he went up the stairs, he spotted the twins going to help the barwoman, boisterous as always. “Hey kitten.”

“So, how much is it raining?”

“Pouring.” He replied as he helped him put every wire and CD and other things he didn’t know, back in their place. “Lulu said we didn’t have to help tonight, that the twins would do it.”

“That’s awesome. I’m beaten. Thank God next week we are closing.” He sighed as they left to the rooms-area. Allen caught his hand and tangled their fingers together, smiling softly at the sight of his blackened fingers intertwined with Lavi’s white ones. They stepped into the room and quickly stripped down to their underwear, Allen climbing on his usual side of the bed, Lavi following suit on the other. The albino turned around and pressed himself against his chest, cuddling in close.

“Is this alright?”

“More than alright.” Lavi replied, draping his arms around the lithe yet muscular back. “Goodnight kitten.”

“Goodnight bunny.” He replied before kissing him. “I’m happy we get to be like this.”

“Yeah. Me too.” He kissed his head before closing his eye.

Allen smiled when the redhead’s breath became even and he fished his phone from the drawer, where he had put it earlier, cancelling all the alarms for tomorrow’s morning and texting Nalei and Lenalee.

 _He asked me out!_ He texted and turned his phone off, knowing either of the two would actually reply at such a late hour at night. Morning, considering it was already 6.45am.

* * *

Next morning, when he woke up, the first thing he did, as usual, was to check his phone. Or he had intended because suddenly he was very aware of the pleasant heat surrounding him. He had his head pillowed on Lavi’s arm with the other one wrapped around his waist. He could feel the warm puffs of breath against his hair.

He sighed contently: he had longed to be there. Carefully, he turned around and pulled his phone to him, switching it on and waiting, his eyes going to check the hour: 9.39am. Hm, he woke up early today. No one would be awake at this hour in their family with their crazy schedules. Not that he would change it at all.

_Nalei: No way!_

_Lena: Finally! I thought we’d have to write it down for you two!_

_What?_ He typed.

_Nalei: She means we’ve been helping both of you to work up the balls to ask the other. She worked with Lavi, I helped you._

He snorted: of course they would have. That didn’t surprise him at all.

_Nalei: I mean, do you have any idea how hard your head is?_

_Lena: Can’t be harder than Lavi. He is a genius when it’s about his stuff, but seriously, it seemed like he had never dated anyone before._

_Nalei: Well, pretty much like Al, I swear. I mean, I know for a fact that he has dated before, but it seemed like he had never been with anyone. He blushed!!!_

_Lena: He what?_

_Nalei: Yeah, it was the day I arrived. I asked him if he liked Lavi and suddenly he looked like a tomato! I tell you Lena, it was hilarious._

_Says the guy who was stuttering when I brought my cousin up._

_Lena: He does have a point Nalei._

He chuckled and put the phone away. He took one of Lavi’s hand in his own and he intertwined their fingers, once again, admiring the difference in colour. A lot of people stared at him oddly when they saw their tattooed hand and always asked _why_. Lavi hadn’t. Maybe never would, although he doubted that. It was not like he hated talking about it, but it was tiring to do it over and over again.

After a few minutes of playing, he grew bored, and let the unblemished hand fall back onto the bed. He sighed: he didn’t want to get out of bed yet, but this was getting dull, so when Lavi pressed his front closer to him, something popped on his mind. He had read of people doing that in the internet, but he had never done it before, never feeling comfortable enough with his partners to do so, but his relationship with Lavi was in a whole other level.

Carefully he slid out of the redheads embrace and between his legs, smirking. He peeled the boxers off his skin and bit his bottom lip at the sight of the soft cock nestled in red curls. It was gorgeous. He took it in his hand and kissed it a few times before taking it into his mouth.

He moaned at the texture of it, so unusual yet not off putting at all. He swirled his tongue around and smiled when he felt it harden inside his mouth. He started to bob his head, slowly, dragging his teeth softly before going back down. Once it was at its full expansion, he moved to his balls, sucking on one and moaning at the flavour.

He didn’t usually go down, but it certainly wasn’t his first time either. It was because he always made his partners use rubbers and the plasticy flavour was not something he enjoyed, but since their second time together, they had decided to do it all the time without protection: they were both clean and exclusive, so why not?

He heard a small moan come from the redhead’s lips and he looked up, but Lavi seemed still asleep. He kept sucking and licking, watching how a single drop of precum leaked out. He licked and pressed his tongue down on the slit, now tearing a deeper moan.

“Whatcha doin’?” The voice came out sleepy and aroused, the breathing laboured.

Allen smiled and released him with a wet pop, crawling back up to his lips. “Wakin’ ya up… Mo’ning da’ling.” He greeted him before kissing him lazily, thickening his accent in purpose. “Slept well?”

“Better than ever.” Lavi replied, his eye still sleepy but with the unmistakable hint of lust. “Come here.” He brought him down again and kissed him once more, still lazy, but with more intent, one hand drawing random patterns on his hipbones. Lavi kept kissing him until Allen was gone and totally into the kissing to flip them over and at the same sneaked a hand into his pants. “Oh? All of that from just sucking me?” He smirked.

“So what?” He glared at him and it took the redhead aback a bit, not used to that aggressive defense.

“Hey, I don’t mean anything by it, I was just teasing you. If anything, I’m fucking flattered.” he kissed him again before he removed the underwear. Allen didn’t reply, but nodded all the same. “Now, do you want me to fuck you deep and slow or hard and fast?” He started to pump him shallowly, just to keep him interested and bring him to full hardness, not to get him off.

Allen frowned, obviously giving it some thought: he loved hard and fast, the way he felt helpless and dominated was something that got him off faster than anything else, but on the other hand he also loved to be brought to the end slowly, feeling the building up of his orgasm and coming with total awareness of it. And that also meant that Lavi would probably continue to fuck him after he had cummed, and there was something in being used that way that had him trembling in pleasure at the sheer thought of it.

“Deep and slow. Want to feel you.” He replied, bringing his hands up to the red hair, always avoiding the string of leather that held the patch together.

“I’ll fuck you so good you will not want to leave this bed afterwards.” Allen hummed before kissing him, granting Lavi’s tongue entrance the second it licked his lips.

Lavi smiled and caressed his sides, his tongue swirling inside Allen’s mouth and as he retrieved, he caught the plump bottom lip between his teeth, dragging it. He moved to kiss him neck ever so softly, licking and biting gently.

Allen was breathing a bit faster than usual but not moaning yet, the pleasure consistent but not enough.

Lavi smiled in the white neck: they had never done slowly, it was always hard and fast against the first surface they could find. As a matter of fact, it was their first time doing it in a bed. And according to Road, he could be the first guy Allen had sex with in his room. Shaking his head a bit, he went back to licking his lover, moving to his nipples.

He bit one of them, his pointy canines breaking the skin around it, but he knew Allen liked a bit of pain and the sting from the bite was something the albino most definitely enjoyed so he didn’t care much about it .

Allen moaned softly at his tongue flicking his other nipple, one hand resting on his head and carding his hair. Lavi had noticed long ago how Allen always avoided the patch and he was grateful for it: last thing he needed and wanted was to have his lover pushing him away.

He dipped his tongue in his navel and smirked at the rather loud groan; that was, after all, one of Allen’s weakest spots. He removed the underwear and moved downwards, gazing at the dripping cock. He licked his lips before taking the head into his mouth, sucking softly and tonguing the slit, sending Allen into a spiral of moans and pants. With a few curse words in the mix.

He sucked a little farther, taking more into his mouth and pressing with his tongue and palate, making sure to press hard enough for Al to feel. And he must have had, the way his hips had jerked up to his mouth. He loved the fact that he could make Allen become so pliant under his administrations.

He left his cock and sucked on one of his balls, tugging the skin with his teeth.

“Fuck Lavi… Feels so good.” He moaned, his head thrashing on the bed.

He hummed in response before going back up to kiss him. “Lube?” He mumbled, stealing short kisses from him.

“Don’t have any up here. Just do it without, I’ll be fine.” He hummed sucking on his neck.

Lavi frowned at that: ok, so Allen liked a little pain, he was fine with that, but entering his lover with no prep and no lube was where he drew the line.

“No. I won’t hurt you like that. Stay here.” He kissed his cheek and stood up, going to the bathroom. Allen propped himself on his elbows, trying to see what was his lover doing.

“Bunny, I told you, there’s none in here.”

“Is not lube what I’m looking for.” He appeared back in the room with the conditioner bottle. “This should do it.” He climbed back on the bed and smiled at the albino, tracing the tattoo on his face. “I know you don’t mind a bit of pain, but I will never take you without preparation. It hurts. A lot. I couldn’t forgive myself if I ever did that to you, ya know?”

Allen blinked, dumbfounded, before nodding and sitting, kiss the side of his mouth. “You are so good to me Lavi.” He breathed softly, voice slightly trembling from the emotion of having someone caring so much about him; most of his past flings didn’t care much about wellbeing as long as they got laid.

The redhead only smiled before licking one of the multiple bites he had marked his lover with. “On your hands and knees.” Allen turned and positioned himself as requested, wriggling his ass at Lavi, who growled low at his throat. “Tease.”

“Always.” The musician replied, grinning mischievously.

The redhead only bit one of his cheeks before dripping some of the conditioner on his lover’s entrance, ripping a very low, very needy moan from him. He smeared it before pushing his index finger inside, but he didn’t move it immediately, too entranced by the way the muscles clenched around it.

“Laaaaviiii!” He looked up and saw the albino’s flushed faced, eyes shining in lust and _so much neediness._ He didn’t recall seeing him like this ever before. And he loved it.

“Yeah, yeah.” He dropped a kiss on the small of his back before he started to move his digit, and apparently, conditioner _did_ make an awesome lubricant.

He moved it slowly, basking in the sighs he was pulling out of the British.

“Should I put the second one in, too?” He questioned, never stopping.

Allen only nodded, lowering himself to rest his head on the bed, completely relaxed and trusting. He moaned softly when the middle finger forced itself in and started a scissoring motion slowly for a while before going back at thrusting.

After a few minutes of teasing, the reporter pushed the third one in, this time stopping to let him accomodate, but as usual, it didn’t take long.

“Bunny…” he looked up and his eye grew wide at the image in front of him: Allen had his stark hair glued to his face because of the sweat making it stick, his face was red and his lips plump and swollen, and his silver eyes… They were dark grey and glazed with lust and… something that he would have dared say, was love. But he shook the idea off: it was too early for that.

“Yeah?” He blinked at how husky his own voice sounded.

“More.” He breathed, closing his eyes. “Please.”

Lavi smiled and crooked his fingers, pressing them flat against the prostate, sending Allen down a spiral of pleasure with a loud moan, back-arching motion. He held them there, watching Allen squirm and convulse softly at the increasing pleasure and frustration.

“La-Lavi please…” he moved his hips, trying to get some motion, but nothing happened. “Please babe… I’m gonna cum if you keep that up…” He whimpered, looking back at him. “Don’t you want to fuck me?” He questioned, frowning.

“What? Of course I want.” He looked up, startled: he wasn’t expecting that kind of question. “I just wanted to tease you a bit, kitten.” He gently removed his fingers before moving to kiss him, his clean hand running through his hair. “How do you want it?” He asked, lips still hovering over Allen’s.

“Want to see you.” He simply said, his tongue darting out to lick at his lips. Lavi smiled before forcing the albino to roll onto his back.

“Want to see you too. You look so hot when you come.” He replied before moving back between his legs. “Wrap them.” The younger smirked and did so, his body completely lax.

Lavi then coated his cock with the conditioner, growling low on his throat, and then entered him, both of them moaning at the motion.

He started to move, slowly, thrusts deep and long, nothing like their usual hurried encounters at the studio, this time it had another taste to it: more intimate, more… real. Even if they had only been seeing each other for the past months, even if they did hang out before and afterwards, doing it in broad daylight and in a proper bed and with no hurry, made everything more real to them. To _both_ of them, Allen was sure of that when he saw how Lavi was looking at him, as if he was a precious piece of china, or something to be treasured. It made him feel warm and squirmy inside.

“Lavi.” He breathed out, one arm extending to him. He needed to kiss him. Right now. Even if it made him seem desperate, he _needed_ to kiss him.

And Lavi delivered. He kissed sweetly, his tongue moving in sync with his thrusts, one hand cupping his cheek as he used the other for balance. Allen wrapped his arms around his neck, his eyes closed and his cheeks so adorably flushed. The redhead broke the kiss, but only moved to rest his head on Allen’s forehead, their breaths mingling together.

“Faster, please.” He tightened his hold around his neck, keeping Lavi there for him to kiss at any moment, and luckily the redhead didn’t pull away.

The journalist only smiled before speeding up, but not even close to their usual rushed speed, no need for that this morning.

Allen arched, his nails digging on both Lavi’s nape and the mattress, his eyes rolling and his mouth hanging open with a moan slipping past his throat. And Lavi knew that reaction by heart by now. His lover always looked so perfect when he thrust into his prostate, it was a sight to see, really. And now it was all his. The groan of possession that tore from his chest surprised him, but he could give it some thought later on, now he should finish the task at hand. His _very_ delectable task.

The redhead thrusted in harder and kissed him, moaning at how Allen moved his hips, trying to get him to go deeper.

“Roll?” Lavi asked, stopping.

“Yeah.” The albino stopped too, before wrapping both arms around his lover and letting him roll them over so he’d be on top. “Oh Lord.” He moaned when he felt him go deeper. “Feel so good.” The American one hummed in agreement, hands splayed on his thighs, squeezing every now and then.

“Are you going to move?” He asked after a while. Allen had just been grinding against him slowly with his hands splayed on his chest.

“Hm… Not yet.” He mumbled, his eyes fluttering close, breathing slowing down.

“Babe?” He moved one of his hands to Allen’s, covering it. “Everything ok? Did I hurt you?” His eye was frantic and worried, looking for any sign of pain on his lover.

“Of course not. You are too sweet to hurt me.” He replied before bending to kiss him, brushing his hair out of his face, his emerald eye in full view. “I just… need you to stay in me more than I had thought.” He blushed and sighed. “I… I’m not used to do this.”

“To what?” Lavi wrapped an arm around his back and his other hand was scratching his nape, something he found out not too long ago, Allen loved.

“To… Having someone I can trust next to me, to have them wanting me back.” He sucked in a breath. “Y-you are the first guy I ever let in here.”

Lavi nodded. “I know. Road told me you never brought guys here to fuck.” He whispered. “Made me real happy when you asked me to stay because I knew that it meant that I was special to you in some way.” He kissed his cheek before pulling away and putting some of his long hair behind his ear (just now he noticed how long it really was, it was perfectly past the middle of his back) “Just like you are special to me.”

“Don’t say things like that… It’s embarrassing.” He mumbled before sitting up right again, a whine escaping his lips at the movement.

“It always amazes me how can you be so cheeky and cool with sex and being all cuddly around the others but the second feelings come out you become this adorable ball of cuteness and shyness.” He paused and smiled. “I… like thinking that I may be one of the few guys you showed this side of yours to.” He mumbled.

The DJ avoided his eye but Lavi could swear he heard him saying that sounded awfully close to ‘You might be the only one.’ Inside his head he grinned but all he did was thrust lightly into him, trying to get things back in motion before either of them went soft. Allen choked on a moan and glared at him.

“Little warning next time, would you?” And just like that he was back to his usual self.

“I’ll let you top next time to convey how sorry I am.” He replied, his hands latching on the albino’s sides as he made him rock again.

“That would work better if you didn’t like bottoming so much, bunny.”

“Says the one with a dick up his ass.” He snickered. Allen only huffed before bringing his black hand down and twisting on of his nipples. Hard. “Ngh!”

“Be careful or I’ll change positions.” He warned, but it was an empty threat and they both knew it. At least this once, it was.

Allen licked his palms and put both of them on the redhead’s nipples, pressing down, a grunt escaping the redhead’s lips. He started to rock his hips a bit faster and the motion made his hands rub on the now perky nipples.

It wasn’t long until Allen was impaling himself, slowly, teasing both his lover and himself, but he just loved the building sensation of an orgasm, how his stomach tightened, how his thighs would tremble in exhaustion, how his toes would curl… And sure, he had some mind blowing orgasms with Lavi (that one time with the ice-cubes just felt so damn strong he literally almost passed out on him) but they had never had the time to do slow, and teasing, and building. That was something new and he was going to make it last to the every second until his body ached so much he wasn’t able to handle it.

Or until Lavi came. Whatever came first.

Lavi had his head thrown back in ecstasy: it was slowly becoming too much. His nipples were almost over sensitive by now, but he couldn’t tell Allen to stop, not when it felt so _goddamn good._ His grip on Allen’s thighs moved to his hips to help him bounce on him but in that position there wasn’t much he could actually do.

“Hey babe.” He called.

“Y-yeah?” Allen looked down, groaning at the sight of him: his red hair was spilled all over his face and pillow, his whole face and neck flushed, eye hazy in lust and a bit unfocused and he was covered in sweat. The DJ groaned and bent to kiss the hell of him, assaulting his mouth with lips, teeth and tongue. Lavi moaned, both in pleasure and in surprise: he was _not_ expecting to be ravaged like that, but hey, he fucking loved it. They kissed some more until Allen pulled away and huffed out a laugh. “Sorry bunny, you just looked so damn hot.”

“Hm, don’t apologise for that.” He licked his lips before slowly making Allen grind against him, feeling that cock rub against his stomach. “Are you close?” He whispered and the albino shook his head. “Can I fuck you properly now?”

“What does that even mean?” He asked, laughing, moaning at how good the friction on his cock felt. He had just told him he was not close, but if they kept things going like that, he was going to be after a few minutes.

“Means I’m going to fuck you so good I’ll make you scream.” He groaned and attacked his neck, leaving a big red mark behind.

“Hm… What if I rode you hard? Would that also count?” He asked, pushing himself back up, his hands rubbing the now hard nipples.

“It would if you did.”

Allen smiled smugly before licking his palms again, shooting Lavi a _very_ dirty look. “Hope your nipples can survive this babe.”

And before the reporter could ask what did he mean, Allen was riding him, his hands once more placed over his nipples and... holy shit! Lavi arched up: they were definitely over sensitive now but the pain was just too good to give it up. He had found out he had a bit of a masochistic side a few years back when an old boyfriend accidently scratched his back and that only resulted on turning him on even more, but seriously, since he had met Allen not only had they fulfilled more kinks that he had in the last five years with multiple people, he was discovering another side of himself. Or rather, he had been proving deeper in some of the areas that no one wanted to help him prove at, such as masochism. Sure, they had never gone full out or even talked about it, but Allen was good on discovering what he liked without needing him to voice it out loud. Then again, it went both ways. Apparently Allen’s own kink for ice and cold things was one that he didn’t even know he had. And that was saying something.

“Oh fuck!” He moaned when Allen pressed one of his nails in his aureola. “Allen…” He looked up and saw the most evil smile he had ever seen. And he _had_ seen Kanda smile when threatening someone.

“Don’t you dare... oh fuck, say you didn’t… ahh… like it.” Allen moaned, his mouth hanging open.

“I… I wasn’t.” He replied, groaning at the pressure around his cock and the sting of the nails. “Again, do it again.” He moaned. “Please.”

The British only grunted before raking down his chest and over his nipples. “Oh shit!” Allen smirked and did it again. Lavi kept moaning and thrashing slightly under his lover. “Fuckfuckfuckfuck. Al, stop, stop, I’m gonna cum. Please stop, stop.” He tried to put a stop his lover’s movements, but to no avail, because Allen swatted his hands again and continued to ride him, this time his nails pressing on his sides, before raking up again to stop on his nipples, which he then pinched. “Oh fuck!” His eye rolled to the back of his head, his hands clutched on the bed sheets, toes curled and he spilled all of his seed inside Allen, who moaned at the feeling of being filled up. He continued to ride him, but he was slowing down, until he was just sitting on Lavi’s lap, with his softening cock inside of him.

Lavi was breathing hard, his head still light from coming and his chest burning just so right, to the point it was chilling. But he knew he had to get Allen off, so he tugged on his arms. “Come up here.” He whispered.

“Hm? You don’t have to.” Allen replied, shaking his head and not moving.

Lavi rolled his eye and rolled them, pulling a moan from Allen as he pulled out. “Like hell I don’t, kitten.” He kissed the side of his neck, sliding down his body, licking his perky nipples before going straight to his cock, taking him in one go. He was so hard it had to be painful, he had probably been edging himself for quite a long time now.

“Fuck!” Allen thrust into his mouth repeatedly, Lavi letting him. Grunting the DJ fisted red hair in his normal hand to guide him, Lavi letting him do whatever he wanted, his teeth scraping lightly. “I-I’m going to…” He tried to pull away, but Lavi grunted and pinned his hips against the mattress before bobbing his head. “Lavi!” He arched off the bed at the same time the elder pushed three fingers in, angling for a direct hit on his prostate which made his cry harder, the extra pleasure just driving him into a deeper sex frenzy. Lavi pulled away just in time to see him cum on his chest and face, eyes rolling and his whole body trembling from the convulsion before slumping down like a potato bag.

“Babe? You alright?” The reporter asked as he patted the side of his cheek, but all he got was a light snore. “Hm, must have felt good, huh?” He kissed his cheek and went to the bathroom to get a rag to clean himself and another to clean the sleeping form on the bed.

Once they both were clean he slipped back into the bed, covering them with the comforter and watching Allen sleep. He seemed so peaceful right now and he looked so beautiful cuddled against him no one would believe that he was the one that left his chest burning and with little blood spots and his nipples hurting like hell. Wearing a shirt was going to be funny. He sighed, content, he couldn’t complain, he had loved the whole of it.

“I hope you’ll keep me around babe.” He whispered against his head before settling down next to him to sleep a few more hours. He checked the clock. 11.43. Fuck, it was so early considering at what time they went to bed. He snuggled down and hugged Allen closer to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Next time they woke up it was already 2.33pm. Lavi yawned and curled around Allen, who huffed out a laugh, playing with the short hair around his nape.

“Are you alright? You passed out.” Lavi asked, brushing away some white strands of hair.

“I’m feeling better than ever… You just made me cum so hard… I don’t think I have cummed like that in years, if ever.” He smiled and kissed him. “We should go take a shower, breakfast is going to be served at 3pm.” he told him, standing up and dragging him out of bed and into the bathroom.

“Breakfast? At 3pm?” He let Allen regulate the water.

“Yeah. We have breakfast at 3, lunch at 9, dinner in the middle of the shift, around 2 or 3 and then if someone wants to grab something before going to bed it’s just cereal or snacks.” He pulled his lover under the shower head with him, wrapping both arms around his neck. “It’s one of the things that comes with working at night. So it’s sort of a routine by now. You’ll get used to it.”

Lavi didn’t ask by that, but a warm feeling spread through his whole being and kissed Allen’s side of the head. The albino arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.

After showering, drying and getting dressed (Allen got him some of Tyki’s clothes since they had a similar complexion) they went downstairs, where Sheryl, Tyki, Maitora, Maashima and Skin were. There was also a woman he had never seen before.

“Morning.” They both greeted as they sat down, Lavi right next to Allen.

“Good morning.” Everyone said, sleepily, as Road came in, pushing a food cart.

“Good morning everyone!” She greeted them happily, but everyone groaned in return. “Seriously, you are all so grumpy before you get your coffees slash teas.”

Lavi, had noted, that the unknown woman had said nothing. She must have noticed him staring, because she offered him a tentative smile.

“Oh. Right. Sorry bunny. Tricia, this is Lavi, my…” He frowned and looked up to the redhead, who only offered him a sheepish smile and a shrug. “boyfriend, I guess.” There was more than one sharp intake of breath and suddenly every single pair of eye were on him. “Oh, cut it out, all of you.” Allen waved them off, before turning to her again. “Bunny, this is Tricia, Sheryl’s fiancee.”

“A pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” He said, offering his hand over the table and trying not to grin like a frigging idiot but c’mon! Allen just called him his boyfriend in front of his family! Or part of it.

“Likewise.” She smiled sweetly and Lavi suddenly had a memory of all the other mom’s smiling like that to their children, but his never did, only cold distant smiles and glances. “Are you alright?” She asked.

“Ah yes, sorry. I spaced out.” He simply said, and before he could even turn to Allen with pleading eye for support, a black hand was already slipping into his, intertwining their fingers together. “Thank you.” He mumbled.

“Don’t need to thank me.” Allen kissed his cheek before starting to fill his plate up with everything he could get his hands on. “Enjoy your meal!” He sing-songed before starting to eat.

As they ate, Lavi took his time to analyse the woman: she had very fair skin, pale blue eyes and long blond hair that she had pulled into a low tight braid. She was wearing a simple red blouse and jeans. She seemed kind hearted and humble, but sickly. He should ask Allen before he said something he shouldn’t. She was talking with Maitora, the second of the three sisters/cousins, and from the very first day, Lavi liked her too: more serious than Road but not as much as Lulu, Mai and he would go back and forth on teasing each other and calling each other names. She was like the big sister he never had.

Maitora also had fair skin but with short dark hair cut into pixy style, the right side and the back of her head shaved much shorter than the left and she had some of it dyed blue. She had piercing blue eyes: not as clear as Tricia, not as dark as Road. She was the average height and weight, but instead of wearing heels like most girls nowadays (Lenalee had an obsession with shoes, especially heels. He was sure she owned more shoes than clothes) she always wore trainers or sneakers with jeans, a fit tank top and a hoodie. She was the same age as Allen, but six months older.

“Say, little brother, aren’t those marks new?” Tyki questioned, pulling Allen’s shirt collar down, displaying the whole array of new love bites on his neck and shoulder. “Da-amn, it looks like you had a date with a vampire rather than a human.” He looked at the redhead with an arched eyebrow.

“No, you see Tyki, I’m not much into blood kinks.” Lavi said, face straight and a naughty glint in his eyes. “That might be more on _his_ side.”

“Is not.” Allen replied, shrugging. “That might be the only kink we do _not_ like.” He replied before biting an apple muffin.

“Won’t see me near pee or crap babe.” Lavi told him, shrugging, and he was sure he heard Tricia gasp and someone huff a laugh, Road if he was not wrong (which he knew he wasn’t)

“True enough. Make that two kinks.”

“And that’s it?” To their credit, no one looked fazed to have this conversation over breakfast. Sheryl only watched them, a smile on his face as he turned to Tricia, linking their hands.

“Well, pain is _perfectly_ fine for both of us. Ice. Edging. Leather. Water…” Lavi listed before turning to watch Allen. “Food?”

“I can totally go with food.” Allen drawled, eyeing him and licking his lips. “Wax?”

“Never done it before, but won’t hear me saying no, you know that.” The reporter replied after swallowing a piece of tomato.

“And as interesting as knowing all of your kinks is, I really want to know when did you get those. They weren’t here when you two got to bed.” Tyki said, still pulling his shirt back.

“It’s been a long morning.” Allen replied, freeing his shirt from his brother’s fingers. Tyki was, probably, the only one he truly considered a brother, since he had been the first one he opened up to. Even Wisely, whom he had a great and close relationship had nothing to do with Tyki. “And hard.” He smirked before bringing his hand down and squeezing his lover, who simply groaned, but did not remove his hand form his crotch.

“Real hard.” Lavi agreed, throwing an arm around his neck to kiss him, tongue slipping into his mouth, which resulted in Allen fisting his hair. “Hm… Might be getting harder any moment now if we continue like this.” Lavi mumbled, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

And everyone laughed at that, even Tricia, who was a bit red in the face from embarrassment, felt happy for them. Especially for Allen, but every single one of them were glad he had finally found someone who was right for him and that he was right for, too.

She remembered all the previous boys Allen had brought to the club. They were all so wrong for him: they always tried to… cage him, so to speak, never understanding that Allen was a free spirit and that he would not commit to anyone unless he wanted to. And he hadn’t wanted to before, he needed to find himself, to conceal his own identity again. They all reminded him of Chaozii, a guy he met in University during his last year. Everything seemed to be fine at the beginning, while they were still studying, but when Allen started to work at the club as it was expected (every single one of them worked there in a unique position, so why wouldn’t Allen work there with them? It only made sense), Chaozii started to say that he should quit and go find a real job and that his family were toxic, that they were brainwashing him so that he would stay by them. And as soon as Chaozii said his family were ‘weird losers that could hope for nothing else in life’ Allen cut all ties with him. But something must had had been said because Allen hadn’t been the same for the following months, picking up guys here and there until he suddenly stopped.

And they all had the suspicion Tyki was the responsible for that: Neah and Cross had tried to get him to see reason, but he always told them off saying that Cross was the last person that should be telling him that. And Tyki… Sure, Tyki also had an array of lovers here and there, but he wasn’t trying to fill some void, he just did it because he wasn’t able to settle down for long, and he wasn’t hurting himself by doing that (and they had the sneaking suspicion he had found someone who was resisting his charms, because he was glued to his phone all the time and smiling like a fifteen years old talking to their crush), but anyway, going back to her previous train of thought and as breakfast went on between jokes and teasing, Tricia analysed the only redhead in the room.

Apart from the fact that Allen had let him into his room, slept together for the night and… fucked in that room, she could see why they hit it off right away: they were two halves of a whole. The way Lavi reached for Allen every time he could in any way possible: an arm around his shoulder, a hand on his knee or thigh (or at least she thought so, she didn’t have that much view from her side), holding hands, fingers losing themselves in the white mane… Or how he leaned to him and let Allen do the same, the way he dropped kisses in every single centimeter of his face, but she realised, he usually did so on his left side of his face.

And it wasn’t only the way he acted towards Allen that made him special, but the way he behaved towards the whole family: he treated Road like his own sister, asking how was school going and offering help should she needed, he talked with Mai about her latest gadget, teased Tyki and Sheryl and talked with Maashima and Skinn with ease, laughing and hitting the big men, not intimidated by them at all. And Sheryl had told her how much time he spent around Lulu, helping her when the doors closed or just talking to her while she worked and he waited for either his friends or Allen.

She had noticed the eyepatch, but there were a lot of things that were taboo in their family such as Allen and Tyki’s tattoos, Mai’s dislike for being touched by anyone outside their family, Neah’s first husband, the twins hype behaviour, Cross’ face, the whole accident itself was something that no one really liked talking about it, Wisely’s nightmares and headaches, even her own sickness was something that no one ever talked about unless she was really ill, so who cared for another thing?

“Are you alright, dear?” She turned to her fiance, smiling brightly.

“I am fine, don’t worry. I was just thinking about our... newest addition.” She told him on a whisper, making sure the new couple wouldn’t hear her, but they were engrossed in a discussion of whether it was chips or crisps.

“Is that so? And what do you think?” She had a degree in Sociology and master in behaviour analysis, so she was pretty much the one in charge of the recruitment when they needed back up for the heavy nights.

“I like him. He… just fits in. With Allen, with us.” She explained him. “I mean, he must have his own secrets, we all have them, but he carries his heart on his sleeve, especially around Al. He treats him as if he were the most treasurable thing in the world, he treats him how Al has never been treated before. And Allen… just look at him, he’s _glowing_. When was the last time we saw him like that?”

Sheryl looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before frowning. “I don’t think we ever did.”

“Exactly. They are just good for each other. They are going to last.” She sentenced before a light peck was left on his cheek.

“I really hope you are right, dear.” Sheryl told her, taking her hand in and brushing her knuckles, making her blush softly.

“So, since today we are not opening, what do you lot plan to do?” Road suddenly asked.

“Sleep.” Tyki replied and just right after he stifled a moan. “Those bastards left almost at 8am…” Tyki, as Lavi had discovered at his fourth time over, was in charge of dealing with the VIPs and their poker games, in which he was the dealer and made sure no one was cheating because apparently, just like Allen, he was a cheater himself, but not as good as Allen (he said so himself, groaning and glaring at the albino).

“We are going to IKEA.” Tricia announced and stared at her man, who only nodded, nervously: no way he was refusing. His fiancee might be prone to be ill and kind hearted but she was very serious about shopping and last time he refused, he had to move for an undefined amount of time to his room there in the club.

“Oh! Can I come? I need some stuff for my room!” Road asked.

“Of course dear.” Tricia replied: she could not deny her baby anything.

“We are going to watch all the football games we missed.” Skinn said and Allen grumbled ‘ _American_ football’ under his breath, but no one said anything as it was normal for him and Wisely to do that.

“I’m meeting with Neah and Cross to talk about the changes they want to make.” Maitora told them. “We are getting a new TV and new speakers.”

“Sweet!” Allen exclaimed: he had been asking for that for over two years now. “About damn time, too.”

She rolled her eyes. “They also asked for a list with the best speakers in the market and the ones you like the best.”

“I’ll text it to dad.” He nodded as he snatched a piece of pear from Lavi’s dish before turning to him. “What about us? Would you like to do something together?”

“We do have a date to plan, don’t we? I don’t see any reason to not go out today.” He told him, taking his hand and kissing his palm, making Allen blush softly and avert his eyes.

“I-I’d like that.” He replied in a mumble, his eyes darting around the table, as if expecting someone to laugh or tease him about it. But they didn’t. They had wanted Allen to have someone to go in proper dates with, someone who made him happy and act sweet for months now, and to see that he had finally found the right guy... there was no way any of them would make fun of him for acting like that, they were all terrified of the idea of him reversing to his old days. He had acted so cold towards everyone, blowing them off and _purposefully_ being hurtful, however they never held a grudge over that, understanding that he was hurting, but Allen had never been the best at expressing his feelings, needs and worries, then again, no one expected him to be open about it seeing with whom he grew up with: Cross also had a tendency of shutting everyone off when he was upset.

“So? Anything you want to do?” Lavi questioned as he stood up, stretching like a cat, his shirt riding up.

“Hm… I have a couple id…”

“What the hell happened to your stomach Lavi?” Maashima exclaimed, pulling it up pretty much all the way to his face. “Are you allergic to something?” He asked, frowning.

“Maybe it’s the shirt? There’s a lot of people allergic to silk.” Maitora pointed out, looking at his chest curiously.

“Or the shower gel and shampoo. Al does use the special ones for his… skin.” Road said as Tyki leaned over the table and burst out laughing and then they saw how Sheryl was covering his mouth. “What?”

“Oh. My. God. You guys are just so innocent!” The youngest of the brothers said. “This is not allergy. Those are scratching marks.” Everyone looked at him, confused: why would he scratch so much? “Oh, it’s not him who scratched it…”

At that, they turned to Allen, who was just staring at them with an arched eyebrow and very, very smug grin plastered on his face and then turned to the redhead, who was wearing just the exact same expression.

“As I said, pain is fine.” Lavi told them.

“ _Really_ fine if you ask me.” The albino said going on tiptoes, kissing his cheek. “Don’t think I’ve ever heard you come so loud.”

“Maybe, but I’m not the one who passed out, am I?” Lavi teased, putting one hand inside the back pocket of his jeans, squeezing his ass.

“I did tell the guys you were a great lay.” He replied, rolling his eyes.

Tyki’s laugh had subsided by now, but he was still grinning and watching them. “At least someone who is able to keep up with you, Al. You should have entered to his life much sooner Lavi.” He said nothing else, but to Lavi there was much more to that sentence than just being able to go back and forth with Allen all the time.

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t have complained if I had met him sooner.” He kissed the side of his head and Allen rolled his eyes, but leaned to him nonetheless.

“Let’s go you bloody smooth talker.” The albino tugged him outside the room and to the back of the building, where a parking lot was. Allen walked them to a black Opel car and sat down on the hood. “So, any idea of where you want to go?”

“You are the one who’s from here, you choose.” Lavi told him, standing in between his thighs.

“I’m actually from Liverpool, not London, but I’ll let it slide this once.” This time around, it was him who put his hands in his lover’s back pockets. “There’s this Literary Tour I’ve been wanting to go to for a while… W-would you like to come with me?” He asked, his eyes shining and so open Lavi could only bend and peck his lips.

“Literature and you? How could I refuse two of my favourite things?” He asked, smiling.

Allen only rolled his eyes at that. “We should get going then, I heard it takes at least four hours to do it all.” He grinned and jumped on the floor. “Is it okay if we take my car and then the underground?”

“As long as you bring me back here so I can get my car to go home.”

“Of course bunny. Although I thought you could stay tonight too if you wanted? You are not working on a Sunday, are you?”

“Nope. I’d love to stay with you.” He kissed him quickly before slipping into the car, on the passenger's seat, Allen sitting on the driver’s.

“Awesome. Although I think sex will be out of the menu.” He said and looked at him before pulling his shirt up again. “Does it hurt?”

“Not really, just my nipples.” Allen looked at them, frowning: maybe he had taken it too far, because they were raging red and looked like they were hurting. The albino leaned over and kissed one, softly before lapping it, hearing him groan. “What…?”

“Should we buy a numbing cream?” He questioned him, setting the shirt down again.

“That would be nice.” He nodded. “I feel like I’ll start touching them in public or something.”

“We’ll stop at Boots.” He kissed his cheek and started the car.

They had been a few minutes in the road that Lavi started to talk again. “So boyfriend, huh?”

Allen looked at him and the redhead was sure he had seen a tinge of pure, unadulterated fear in them. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable… I can tell them it was all a joke and that we are just dating and I’m sorry I said that without talking it with you first and maybe you don’t want to be called that or you don’t want to be my…”

“Babe, breathe. I like the title, of course I want to be your boyfriend, that’s all I ever wanted for the past 2-3 months.” He smiled. “I was just teasing you.”

Allen shoved him playfully, grinning. “Meanie. But I like you that way, so why bother changing you, right?”

“Exactly.” He grinned. “Where do you live?”

“Near Golders Green Station, ten minutes walk.” He replied as he turned left.

“Sweet. We rarely go there and if we do, it’s only when Yuu wants to eat Korean, there's a delicious restaurant there!”

“Well, I hope you’ll come more often now, _boyfriend_.” He smiled cheekily.

“Oh, I certainly will, _boyfriend_.” They looked at each other and snickered.

They rode in silence for another 30 minutes until they arrived. “Well, we are here.” He parked inside his garage and stepped out. “Let’s go buy the cream, come back, apply it and go to the underground?” he proposed.

“Sounds like a plan.” He pecked his lips before getting out of the car.

They walked to the Boots (Lavi still had a hard time calling drugstores that) and the youngest lady smiled at seeing Allen enter. “Allen!” She waved at him and he went to there, the redhead closely behind. “It’s been a long time since I last saw you!”

“Isn’t that usually a good thing?” She giggled and the reporter squinted his eyes at her: if the girl thought she could flirt with Allen like that, she had another thing coming. “Anyway, is there anything you need? More cream for your earlobes? I’ve told you many times you have way too many earrings.”

“And I still plan to get another two, but no, I don’t need that today. We need some numbing cream.”

“We?” She looked up and it seemed as if she had just noticed Lavi. “Oh. A friend of yours?”

“Hm…” Silver eyes looked at him and smiled smugly. “Boyfriend, actually.” Allen told her, hand slipping into the slightly larger one.

“Oh. Tha-that’s nice.” She looked down and said nothing more, going to fetch their cream. “There you are. It’s going to be 5.30 pounds.” she told them, smiling, but it was fake and definitely not as bright as it had been when they entered.

“I pay.” Lavi said, pulling out his wallet before the albino could do so, but he only rolled his eyes and let him pay for it. “Thank you er… Jemma.” With that, they left the store and went back to Allen’s small house. “You know, you were a bit cruel to her.” He pointed out to him, their hands still linked.

“Not really. I have turned her down more times that I can to count and truthfully? That was just the perfect opportunity for her to get a _fucking hint already_.” He hissed the last part, turning left and dragging Lavi behind him.

“Well, I’m not complaining. She _was_ eye raping you.”

They reached the house and Allen made a beeline for the bathroom, so Lavi only caught glimpses of the kitchen and the living room. The DJ sat him down on the bathtub edge before unbuttoning his shirt and frowning. He had definitely gone a bit too far, they looked more raw every time he looked at them and they were all puffed out.

“Kit, seriously, I’m fine.” Lavi said, rolling his eyes. “Now, can I have the cream?”

“Pfft, as if you could see where you really need it.’’ He was obviously talking about his blind spot and his patch, but it was not with malice.

“Right, right.” He watched how Allen put some on his fingers and brought them to his chest, starting with the area surrounding the nipple. A sigh escaped his lips in relief: it felt so good to finally have something cooling and soothing his burning skin. He growled when he rubbed his nipple, even if he did it carefully and softly, they were still hypersensitive.

“Sorry.” Allen muttered before starting with the other one, getting the exact same reaction. “You sure you are ok?” He questioned when he saw Lavi’s slightly red face. “We can stay here if…”

“For the umpteenth time Al, I. Am. Fine. It’s not like I use my nipples to walk babe.” He stood up and flicked his nose. “Now, wash your hands so we can get going, yeah?”

“Yes daddy.” He smirked as he turned to water on, getting all of the cream out. “Huh. Next time, remind me to use gloves, yeah? I can’t feel my fingers.” He wiggled them at him, frowning.

“Noted.” He smiled and took the box. “Oh, look. Use gloves.” He tapped at the picture, showing it to Allen.

“Could have seen that sooner!” He shoved him to the side softly, giggling. “Let’s go?” Lavi only nodded, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and kissing the side of his head. “Hum… Lavi?”

“Y-yeah?” He pulled away slightly, weirded out by his tone.

Allen looked at him, pausing in the middle of the hallway. “Why do you do always do that?”

“Do what?”

“Kiss me on the head or the sides.” He told him, his silver eyes filled with curiosity.

“I don’t really know? I just like kissing you and because you are shorter than me your head is the first thing I can kiss… I won’t do it anymore if you don’t like it.”

“I do like it. A lot. Makes me feel… closer to you somehow.” His cheeks, once again, were dusted in red.

“I’m glad it does.” He smiled and Allen rolled his eyes, going on tiptoes and kissing him on the forehead.

They were outside the house and going to the station when a phone broke the silence.

“Yuu?”

“ **Where the hell are you? It’s well past 4pm!”** Uh-oh. He sounded angry. Really angry.

“I told you I was staying at the club.”

“ **For the night, not the whole day, you dimwit.”**

“We went to sleep at 6, Yuu! When did you expect me to come around? At 9?” And he was dripping sarcasm. Too much time around Allen and his family, apparently.

“ **You could have…”** Lavi never got to know what his roommate was saying because Allen took the phone from him.

“Oy, Bakanda, you are interrupting our date, so fucking shut it, will you? He’ll come by tomorrow night. Bye.” And he hung up before giving him his phone back. “What?” He questioned, frowning, at the amused look the ginger was giving him.

“You are unbelievable.” Lavi scoffed, rolling his eye. “Just so you know, if he is in a mad mood when I get there, I’m freeloading with you.”

“Ouch. I save you from having to listen to him so you can be with me and that’s the thanks I get?” He pulled a face and Lavi laughed, quickly dropping a kiss on his pouting lips.

“Better?” He questioned and Allen hummed in agreement. “So, where are we getting off?”

“Baker Street.”

“So Sherlock Holmes, huh?”

“Of course. You cannot come to London and not go there! This is literally the first place I found myself dragged to when I came to live here.”

“Sheryl?”

“Sheryl.” The lawyer _loved_ Sherlock. He knew every bit of data and trivia about it. And not just the books, he had seen every single movie and show. “Say, should we do the museum tour inside the house or do you prefer to just see the house and go to the next one?”

“Hm... it’s still early, so maybe we can go inside?” He replied, tucking a strand of the loose hair behind his ear.

“If that’s what you want. I know you’ll love it. You struck me as the type of person who does enjoy museums.”

“And very much so.”

They got out of the underground and went straight to the house, Lavi making sure to take a couple of pictures and promptly ignoring all of Yuu’s anger filled texts, he could deal with him later on, right now all he wanted to do was enjoy his date with his _boyfriend._

As they entered the museum, Lavi started to point bits of trivia about Sherlock Holmes. “Oh. My. God. You are just like Sheryl!” Allen exclaimed, looking at him with a look of mix terror and amusement, to what Lavi just laughed and shrugged.

After Sherlock Holmes they went to King’s Cross to get the new Harry Potter book (Allen was a huge Harry Potter nerd, maybe Sheryl knew all about Holmes, but Allen knew every single charm and spell from Harry Potter), George Inn came after (neither of them were big fans of Shakespeare, but that was a must see), the Gardens Squares of Bloomsbury, The Dickens museum, of course, the Pillars of Hercules and finally, the Shakespeare Globe.

* * *

They were back to the club by 9.30pm, exhausted and their feet hurting like hell. They were lying on their backs on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

“How do you even know all of those things about every single author?”

“I studied World literature in University.” Lavi answered, turning around to look at him.

“I thought you studied Periodism.” Allen pointed out, arching an eyebrow and turning on his side too.

“Oh. I did. I… uh… I actually have three degrees?” He offered, suddenly feeling embarrassment for some reason.

Allen’s eyes grew considerably in a matter of seconds, full of surprise and wonder. “Three? How? You’re just 24! And why didn’t you tell me? A-are you some sort of genius?” He was frowning and he seemed slightly angry at the fact that he hadn’t been told that.

Lavi sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not a genius, but I do have an IQ of 149. And… I guess I sort of forgot to tell you? I never really cared for this sort of stuff, I just did because I could and liked it.” He smiled and sighed. “There also the issue of people automatically thinking I’m a snob and a stuck up and a nerd so I usually don’t say how many degrees I really have. I mean, not even Lena knows.”

Allen sat up too and hugged him. “Do you really think I’m that shallow? I live in a house of highly intellectual people.” He joked and kissed him on the nose. “So, what’s the third degree?”

“History. I mainly took it because my grandfather is a Historian.” He explained. “But I actually really love History. There aren’t many jobs related to it, though.”

“How did you manage?” Allen asked, now curious about it: Lavi had to be way smarter than he seemed, and he already seemed smart!

“I did History online. I also started Uni at 14 years old so I did World Lit first and then Periodism.” He told him and Allen sighed dramatically.

“Now I’m feeling dumb. As if it wasn’t enough that I was the only one who studied something easy like music, my boyfriend had to be a genius.” He let himself fall against the bed, his legs thrown over the ginger’s.

Lavi laughed at that and pinched his side. “Don’t be like that. I, for one, find music and anything related to art incredibly hard to master.”

“You are just humouring me.”

“I’m really not. I can’t go past the recorder. And I wasn’t even good at that. What instrument do you play? Piano?”

“Uh-huh, that’s my main. Uncle is a pianist, so he was the one who taught me as a kid and then through Uni. But I also play the flute, the violin, guitar (acoustic and electric), saxophone, drums and the ErHu uh… chinese violin?” He elaborated at the confused face the redhead had at the last one.

“And you say you are the dumb one? Honey, I’m sorry to break it to you, but not many people can play that many instruments. Especially Chinese ones. What branch did you major in, anyway?”

“Actually? Composing. You only need to play two instruments to major in Composing.”

“Why would you do Composing when you can play that many? Why not go to play at a big orchestra or something?”

“Are you kidding? I like being able to create things, not following rules and things. Besides, when I got to Uni I already had mastered the piano, the guitars and the saxophone. Drums weren’t hard either but the ErHu… That’s another whole story. It took me two years at least to master it.”

At that, Lavi sputtered, watching him with wide eyes. “Kitten, I know for a fact that people do not master instruments in under two years. Are you sure you are not some sort of music prodigy?” He was in awe. Allen was saying that he wasn’t smart or whatever and now he says that he mastered every instrument he played in around two years or less? How could he think so low of himself?

Allen squirmed and sat up again, avoiding his gaze. “The guys do say so sometimes but… Music is not as impressive as Law, or Psychology or Engineering…”

“Babe, it’s not about how impressive it is, but _how good you are at it_. 22 years old don’t play that many instruments, I can tell you that.” He kissed him and smiled. “Say, would you play something for me sometime?”

He considerably brightened at that. “Of course! I have the instruments at home, though.” Lavi nodded when another question came up into his mind.

“But, if you majored in Composing, why are you here? Why are you not composing for famous people? I mean, with that many instruments anyone would buy your music!”

And the smile that spread across his face was nothing but smug and devious. “I do compose. But only and exclusively for Neah Walker.”

“Neah Walker? Why do you keep working here then? You could have like, a huge house in L.A or New York, even Miami and…” he trailed off and glared at the form laughing its ass off. “Neah Walker is Neah D. Campbell, your uncle, isn’t he?”

Allen was just trashing on the bed now, tears pooling in his eyes and his breathing erratic and coming out as gasps. “Oh my God, your face! Bahahaha!” He could not stop, even if it was starting to hurt, he couldn’t stop.

Lavi groaned and moved to pin him down, kissing him hard to stop the albino from laughing at him. And it worked. Perfectly so, because in less than ten seconds Allen had stopped laughing and was kissing him back with just as much force. “You can be a jerk sometimes.”

“But a lovable jerk. And anyway, I always give uncle my pieces for free, but I have the ownership of them.” He explained. “And besides, I love it here, and just imagine that I had been living in America… We wouldn’t have met.”

“Hm… Right.” He rested his forehead on Allen’s shoulder. “But seriously? If Neah plays your pieces why don’t you just work for others too?”

Allen wrapped his arms around his back, sighing. “I did, while I was in Uni. We could sell our compositions if someone wanted them, no big deal, really. But then they always wanted to make arrangements here and there because it would suit the singer’s voice better, or because they thought it was too loud, or too slow… Uncle always takes them as I present them to him. He does help me if I’m stuck, but he never, not even once, asked me to change something.” He explained, playing with the red strands. “And besides, I can have all the liquor I want for free in here.”

Lavi laughed at that, of course that would be a valid reason for him. Allen laughed with him and moved his hands back to his chest, which made Lavi move away with a hiss. It took the albino a couple of seconds to understand that reaction. “Oops. Sorry bunny. Completely forgot.” He smooched his cheek before reaching for his bag and retrieving the numbing cream.

“No worries, would you believe me if I said I forgot about it too?” He started to unbutton his shirt to let Allen apply the cream again.

“Totally. It was just over an hour ago that I got back my fingers, which reminds me I need to fetch some gloves. I think we have some in the kitchen. Be right back.” And with that he left him alone.

Sighing, Lavi retrieved his phone and winced at Yuu’s messages. Oh boy, was he mad. He hit the call button and waited.

“ **Oh now you call?”**

“C’mon Yuu, don’t be like that. I told you I wasn’t coming.” He lay on the bed, kicking his boots off. “And I was out on a date, of course I wasn’t to call you in the middle of it. Especially not with Allen next to me.”

“ **Fuck moyashi.”**

“Already did this morning.” He could _hear_ Kanda rolling his eyes. “Anyway, Yuu, I’m sorry I worried you, ok? But we woke up at half past 2pm, had breakfast and we are about to have lunch…”

“ **It’s almost 10pm and you are about to have lunch?”** Well, at least he had calmed somewhat down.

“They work at night, so they have re-scheduled every single meal. I mean, it does make sense, half the time they get to bed at the same time you and I are having breakfast and apparently breakfast is always served at 3pm.”

“ **Whatever. At what time are you coming tomorrow?”**

“Hm… Late afternoon, I guess. Oh, and they will not open the next whole week. Lena is going to be heart broken.”

“ **She will. Are you going to tell her or should I?”** Kanda questioned.

“You do. I told her that her favourite magazine was closing doors last time.” The Japanese one growled low on his throat, but said nothing. “Anyway, bye Yuu.”

“ **Moyashi** **'s** **t** **here, huh?”**

“Yes and I don’t want you two to get into a screaming match on my phone. So good bye.” He said and hung up. “Got the gloves?”

“Yeah. Was that BaKanda?” He question before kneeling in next to him.

“Uh-huh. I thought we agreed on no sex tonight?” He questioned when Allen sat on his lap, one leg at each side. The albino rolled his eyes and flicked his nipple, arching an eyebrow when Lavi hissed.

“Don’t be a smartass.” He squeezed the tube and started to apply it the same way he did earlier. “Maybe next time I should just scratch your bag? They still look really puffed out.” He suggested as he moved to the other one, his eyes flicking to the ginger’s face to see if he was hurting.

“Maybe. But it felt so good…” He told him before pulling him down to kiss him. “At what time do you open today?”

“Hm… We are not, apparently.” Allen said, slumping next to him. “According to Maa, uncle called today mid-afternoon and said we are not opening, but instead is cleaning night, so we are going to be scrubbing every single surface in the club. You can go home if you want to.” He told him.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been spending a _lot_ of time here without paying entrance and no one ever minded. I’m going to help you clean up.” He said, frowning. “Besides, I really want to sleep with you. I know it sounds sappy and everything but… I like holding you and cuddling as we sleep…” He was blushing now and twirling one of Allen’s white strands in his fingers.

Allen smiled and nuzzled his hand. “Yeah. Me too.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Oi, Allen, Lavi, dinner is ready!” Tyki knocked on their door and moved to the next one, Maitora’s if he heard right.

“Finally! I’m starving.” Allen said, scrambling to his feet.

“Aren’t you always? I just realised that, but you usually have snacks around you.”

“Hm-mh. Dad thinks that because I lived on the streets so long that my metabolism is really fast. And after the accident it got worse.” he shrugged. “Why do you think everyone tries to get food before I do?”

“Mh-hm. Makes sense.” They went to the dinner room where only Sheryl, Tricia, Lulu and the twins were. “Afternoon…? Night? What is it for you guys?” He questioned, confused, as he sat at the same spot he had for lunch. He frowned, as he realised that there were 17 chairs around the table… Did they put a chair for him? For how long?

“So, Allen, Lavi where did you go?” Tricia asked them, smiling softly.

“Oh, we did part of the Literary tour.” Allen told her. “It was awesome! He knows as much about Sherlock as Sheryl here! And the Harry Potter shop was so amazing! I should have bought something more!”

“You would have bought the whole store!” Sheryl pointed out and Lavi nodded in agreement.

“Don’t side with him. You are supposed to be on my side!” Allen hit him on the shoulder.

“And I would be if he weren’t totally right babe!” Lavi said, punching him back. “You literally said ‘I want all the plushies!’ and then high-fived the cashier because she was a Slytherin too!”

“Oh shush it. Ravenclaws and Slytherins are the best.” Allen said and Lulu nodded.

“He’s right, we are.” And they high-fived, of course.

“Hey! I’m a Slytherin too!” Devitto exclaimed, looping an arm around Lulu and raising his hand.

“Hey! Wait up!” Tyki said, entering the room, Wisely close behind and they also raised their hands but another two interrupted them.

“Not without us!” Lavi looked at Maitora and Fiidora storm in and join them with unbelieving eyes.

“For Ravens and Snakes!” They high fived and broke up giggling like five years old, all of them, even Lulu, Wisely and Maitora.

“What the…?” The ginger looked at the couple that were watching them amusedly.

“That’s what Harry Potter makes in a house full of hyper people who pretty much grew up with it or got hooked up.” Sheryl said. “What house are _you_ in?”

“Hufflepuff.”

“What?” Allen turned to look at him, eyes wide ins surprise. “How are _you_ a Huffie? You have three degrees for God’s sake!”

“How are _you_ a Slytherin? You act nothing like one!” He countered, pointing at him.

“You are also a Hufflepuff? That’s awesome!” He turned around and saw Road coming to him. “Jazz, Skinn and I were the only ones!”

“Really?” She nodded. “I’m guessing you are Gryffindor, then?” He asked Sheryl.

“Yeah. Toraido and Maashima are too.” The lawyer told him. “And finally we are tied. We’ve been waiting for years to get get another Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.”

“Yes, Harry Potter is amazing and all, but can we start having dinner please? Before Neah comes in and sees us still eating?” Maashima said, entering and sitting next to Road.

And faster than Lavi thought possible all of them were sitting around the table minus Tyki and Skinn, who apparently were on serving duty. And as soon as everyone got their share of mac & cheese (Allen’s much larger than the rest) they all started eating.

“I still don’t understand how did you get into Hufflepuff.” Allen suddenly said.

“I’m a better person than you, apparently. Nicer, too.”

“Oh yeah. A lot nicer.” Allen said, rolling his eyes. “But seriously, you have to be the smartest person in this room and you are not in Ravenclaw? Bit disappointing, really.”

“Let’s talk about how _you_ ended up in Slytherin, instead.” Lavi said, pointing him with his fork. “You might be all tough and sarcasm outside, but you are just sweet and cuddly inside. You are like the perfect Hufflepuff!”

“It’s probably because of the cheating.” Toraido pointed out. “It makes sense, think about it. Tyki and Allen here openly say they cheat in poker or any game they can. Devitto isn’t much better, but he’s sneakier than them and always tries to get away with it, and who’s the other Slytherin in the family?”

“Cross.” Road said. “But he isn’t really good at cheating.”

“He sucks at it, I tell you. But he is bloody good at leaving all of his messes to someone else and disappearing into thin air.” Allen grumbled as he stabbed the poor pasta on his place.

“That’s also very Slytherin...ish, if you ask me.” Maashima said. “Real question here is how did Sheryl end up in Gryffindor? You always try and not involve yourself in any fight! How does that stand for ‘brave’?” He questioned, his hands thrown in the air.

“Now, now. Don’t be like that Tora.” Fiidora replied, his voice calm as always. “He does stand up for justice, though, doesn’t he? I mean, he _is_ a lawyer, it’s probably on his job description.”

“And he _is_ the perfect definition of chivalry.” Tricia said, kissing her fiance’s cheek.

“See? The lady has talked.” Sheryl said, smiling at her, cupping her cheek. “What about you, dear? What house are you in?”

“Wouldn’t know, I have never done the test.” She said and more than one gasped at that.

“You have to do it!” The twins yelled, slamming their hands on the table.

“Of course, of course. But after we’ve cleaned a bit, yes?” She told them and they nodded, satisfied with her answer.

“I do have another question, though. Ravenclaw. How did all of you get in there? You are a complete mish-mash!” Road said.

“Uh…” The four of them looked at each other before shrugging.

“Ok, Mai makes sense because she’s fucking smart. Fiidora is the one who knows everything that’s happening around him and always likes to have eyes and intel on everyone.” Tyki said. “As for Lulu and Wisely… No fucking idea.”

“Lulu I don’t know, but c’mon, Wisely is fucking easy!” Allen exclaimed, pointing at him.

“What?” The other albino asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I don’t understand either.” Fiidora and Toraido said at once.

“Because of his name?” Lavi questioned, his eyes never moving from his plate.

“And of course it would be because of his name.” Tyki groaned, shaking his head.

“Mind filling us in, boys?” Tricia asked them.

“I mean, his name is Wisely, which comes from the word ‘wise’ which is usually a synonym for intelligent and intellectual among others, right? Therefore, it only makes sense that he’d be a Ravenclaw.” There was a thick, stunned silence before Road, the twins, Fiidora and Skinn broke out laughing and the others at least tried to cover it. “What?” He seemed a bit offended at being their laughing stock.

“Babe, only you’d see logic behind that.” Lavi told him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder to kiss his head. “But, since it might be the only valid reason, I say we go with it.”

“Yeah, why not. It’s not the craziest thing that have been said between these walls.” Maashima agreed. “So, Lulu, how did you get into Ravenclaw?”

“I know how to make perfect alibis in case someone kills a person?” She offered with an arched eyebrow. “And I am a master at potions and mixing.”

“Well, she’s right. About both things, actually.” Tyki shrugged. “And as for you three…” He looked at the three Hufflepuffs around the table and rolled his eyes. “You three are just too easy to figure out.”

“Really?” Jasdero asked, looking up from his brother’s phones, which he had snatched a few minutes earlier.

“I have to agree with Tyki on this.” Wisely said. “I mean, you are just too naïve half of the time” he explained pointing at the blond twin before moving to Skinn “you are big and scary but you are so nice and sweet to people you are close to and you…” he turned to his little sister who smiled brightly at him. “You are always ready to help in anyway you can.”

“That and that she’s a box of surprises. She’s the only one who could fit in all houses with a proper reason.” Fiidora pointed out.

“Does that make me the ultimate Hogwarts student?” She questioned.

“I don’t think that exists Road.” Lavi told her, smiling.

“Too bad…” She pouted before going back to eating.

And as the Harry Potter conversation subsided, they started to talk about random things with whomever was listening, which ended up in a mess of voices and sounds all over the dining room.

“Who’s on dish duty today?” Maitora asked.

“I am.” Wisely said, raising his hand.

“And me.” Toraido seconded.

“I’m unsetting the table.” Fiidora said.

“With me.” Jasdero said, giggling.

“Alright, then let’s start taking everything in the club out and into the garage so we can start cleaning when you four are done.” Sheryl said, standing up, everyone following suit, although quite reluctantly. They called it the garage, but it was actually more of a storehouse. “Alright… Skinn, Maa, can you two take care of the sofas?” The nodded. “Lulu, Road, you take care of the bar, you know how you want things to be organised. Devi and I, chairs. Allen and Mai speakers and everything else.” And with that, everyone went to do their assigned tasks, Tyki and Tricia going inside the VIP area to clean there.

“What about me?” Lavi said, arching an eyebrow. They were not expecting not to help, right?

“Huh? You can’t help, you’re our guest!” Sheryl said, dumbfounded.

“Guest my ass. I’ve coming here five months non stop and you still consider me a guest?” Lavi questioned him. “Now, give me something to do.”

“You are not letting this go, are you?” Sheryl sighed and Lavi shook his head. “Okay… Let’s see. Allen!” The albino turned around and looked at him. “Can you manage the speakers and screens by yourself?”

“Sure!”

“Alright! Mai, you and Lavi take care of the tables.”

“Okay!” She yelled back and went to the redhead. “Ready to do this ginger?” She questioned.

“Of course pixie.” He replied as they went to pick their first table.

And twenty minutes later, they had not still finished taking everything into the storehouse. Tables, chairs and sofas were out. Booths, the bar stuff, the speakers, the screens and the lamps were all still inside.

“Alright, we are done!” Jasdero said. “What do we do?”

“Hum… Jazz, Wisely, take care of the lamps. Tora, Skinn, Maa, can you take care of the booths?” Because they were the bigger and stronger, they always dealt with the heavy stuff. “Fii, you and Lavi can take care of the stools. Lulu, Road, how are you doing?”

“Just finishing to pack everything. And we’ve done a bit of throwing too.” Lulu told him, but she was focused on the bottles Road was showing her.

“Al? You alright?” Toraido asked, yelling.

“Yeah. I’ve got four down and out, meaning I only have another six to go and then the screens.” He was sitting on the ladder with one leg dangling on each side.

“Allen! For the love of God, don’t play on the ladder!” Tricia exclaimed, whipping her hands with a towel and frowning at him.

“Uh… Sorry Tricia!” He sing-songed before going down the ladder. “Does anyone have a hair tie? I forgot mine upstairs.” He asked, pushing his hair back and out of his face.

“Here!” Tyki yelled from the other side of the room, waving his arm and Allen went there and took one of the ties.

“Thank you!” He kissed his cheek.

“Ugh, gross. You are all sweaty.” Tyki shoved him playfully and Allen rolled his eyes.

“As if you weren’t!” He shot back before going back to his ladder.

“Alright people, let’s just wrap this up so we can finally start cleaning!” Maashima yelled and he got a chorus of really discouraged ‘yays’.

After another twenty minutes the only things inside the club where the speakers, the screens and some booths. The twins and Road had gone to fetch everything to start brooming and mopping and dusting. Wisely was helping Lulu to move out everything, Tyki and Sheryl had been emptying the VIP area and Tricia and Lavi had been doing the stocking and counting of everything because apparently, she was the best and fastest at it and she needed help to move the boxes around and Lavi offered his.

“Hm… Hello sexy.” Lavi purred when Allen left another speaker outside as he was setting another box of liqueur down for Tricia to count. The albino had taken his shirt off (which did earn him a few catcalls from his loving brothers) and was sweating a bit if he had to judge by how his hair was sticking to his face.

“Hello gorgeous.” Allen replied back, sitting next to him and kissing him on the lips. “I’m going to die.” He groaned, closing his eyes for a moment, his head resting on his lover’s shoulder.

“Why didn’t you ask me for help?” Lavi questioned, rubbing his arms.

“You were here helping Tricia.”

“We can call Wisely to help her out and I help you, if you wish.”

“That’d be awesome.” He stood up and the redhead followed suit. “Is it ok if I take him, Tricia?”

“Of course, Allen.” She nodded. “You two are so cute together.” She told them, making them grin.

“Thank you!” Allen said and smooched her cheek. “I’ll tell Wise to come out.”

“Thanks darling. You too Lavi.” The ginger nodded his head before following his boyfriend inside.

“Oi Wisely, get your ass out there.” Allen yelled. “Lavi is helping me, you go help Tricia.”

“Yeah, yeah…” He rolled his eyes at them before going outside, box in hand.

Lavi and Allen went to the last three speakers. “I go up the ladder, unscrew them and I pass them to you?” The musician suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” Allen kissed him on the lips before going up the ladder, Lavi’s eyes totally glued to his ass. “Such a nice view.” He commented, grinning cheekily and Allen threw him a screw. “Hey! What was that for? I was complimenting you!”

“Because you are the one who said ‘no sex’, so don’t tease.” Allen simply said before he started to unscrew another speaker.

Lavi watched him work and he was _definitely_ enjoying how his muscles shifted and tensed every time he moved. And he just looked so hot working half naked and concentrated like that.

“You ready bunny?” He called after about five minutes, looking down. “Those are heavy.”

“I’ll manage.” He told him extending his arms up to grab it by the handle bars. Carefully Allen lowered and gave it him and once he was sure Lavi had a good grip on it, he let go. “Oomf.” Yeap. It was heavy. Real heavy. How the fuck had Allen been moving those by himself? More importantly, how the fuck did he go down the ladder with that? “I… I’ll go leave it outside.” He managed to say and Allen nodded.

“Okay!” He watched him go and then started working on the other.

And finally after another half an hour, everything was out in the open, with them slumped on any available surface, floor included, as Skinn and the twins decided that the pavement looked more comfortable than the chairs or the booths. Allen and Lavi had just flopped down on a sofa and were laying there, cuddling, Lavi massaging Allen’s stiff arms and hands.

“You ok?” He questioned softly against his ear.

“Yeah. I’ll be sore tomorrow, though.” Allen sighed, slightly sleepy. “Your chest?”

“Not on fire yet.” The albino nodded and turned around, hiding his face on the ginger’s chest and closing his eyes, one arm thrown around the reporter’s midsection.

“I swear to God, guys, I _hate_ cleaning day.” He complained, his voice quite clear despite the fact that it was muffled.

“And who doesn’t?” Toraido replied. “Remind me again why we don’t have a cleaning service or something?”

“Because last time we ended up with one broken screen, £200 worth of liquor stolen and they didn’t do their job well.” Sheryl reminded him.

“Oh yeah. Neah was sooo mad. Last time I saw him like that was when Adam was still around.” Fiidora said, frowning.

“Hm…” There was a strange pause and all of them were waiting for the exact same thing: to see who’d bring the topic up first. “What ever happened to him anyway?” Maitora, not surprisingly, asked. She had been barely nine years old when Adam left.

“I don’t know. He had a… a wool factory in Scotland, didn’t he?” Maashima pondered.

“Yeah. Maybe he’s still there.” Skinn agreed. “He really had a short temper, though.”

“Oh yeah. No wonder they always ended up shouting.” Sheryl agreed and that topic of conversation seemed to awake Allen a little bit as he turned around, but still glued to Lavi’s chest.

“Hey, how was he?” He asked to nobody in specific.

“What?” Sheryl frowned at him.

“Physically. Describe him to me.” He requested as he grabbed Lavi left arm and threw it over his own chest, linking their hands and making Lavi put a leg between his. The ginger chuckled before moving to get a bit more comfortable, putting his other free arm under his head and bringing Allen closer to him, resting his chin on top of his head.

“Well, that was almost twenty years ago, but ok. Dark hair, short. Stubble. Droopy dark brown eyes. Olive skin. Normal weight, normal height, a bit taller than Neah, if you will.” Maashima said.

“He had a scar on his right arm because of an accident with something at the factory.” Tyki added. “I remember because Neah brought me and Mai to the Hospital once with him.”

“Oh yeah. That was right before they broke up.” She agreed.

“I think we were off to a road trip with school or something, because I do remember Adam wearing a sling.” Fiidora pointed out.

And Allen started to chuckled, his whole body shaking. “Oh fuck! I was right!” He cheered.

“Hm? About what dear?’ Tricia asked.

“It was about a year –I think– after Shisho picked me up we went to Scotland to visit an acquaintance of his. They didn’t let me into the room, but I do remember the man and how they yelled. There was this one sentence that was almost glued to my head.” He frowned, his eyes saddening a bit as he thought about it. “I remember dad saying rather clearly ‘You said you’d do anything for him and that’s why I stepped aside and left you two to be happy yet I come back you have fucking abandoned him with 6 kids!’, then they yelled some more before Shisho opened the door, picked me up and went ‘You had your chance Adam, I won’t be waiting anymore.’ And we left. I never really thought about it as a kid, I mean it wasn’t unusual to hear dad yelling about ex-lovers or whatever, but he had never talked about ‘stepping aside’, he usually made others step aside.” Lavi chuckled behind him: he had only seen the man once, but yeah, he would have stepped aside too. There’s no way he could rival with someone like Cross. Plus the man was fucking scary.

Allen smiled at that, his body shaking with Lavi’s. He didn’t really understand why, but it felt good to see him so at ease around his family. Sure, he had been coming and interacting and helping them in the club, but this was his first time actually spending time like this, bonding. And he just belonged there, laying on the sofa holding him and acting like everybody else, without being doubtful or skittish, he was just acting natural. He was just glad that this time, finally, he had found the right one.

“Wait ‘stepped aside’? What does that mean?” Wisely questioned. “How long had they known each other?”

The younger albino smiled smugly. “Ready for the bomb?” Everyone nodded, eagerly. “They are actually high school sweethearts. But apparently Cross moved to another district of Dublin and they broke it off, but you know, they remained as friends. When they met again in University, dad never grew the balls to ask him out again, Adam came in, and he gave up completely. That is until he… we almost died. He… I don’t know, I guess he realised he couldn’t leave this world without telling uncle his true feelings, so he did and well, you know the rest.” He told them, holding Lavi’s hand a bit tighter at the reminder of his accident and the ginger squeezed it back as he dropped a kiss on his head as if to say ‘You are here now, you are safe’

“Why did he wait after the accident though?” Skinn asked, his deep voice rumbling through the space.

“Yeah. I mean, you guys had been coming at the manor for more than five years.” Road said. “What about the time in between?” They all looked at him, but the DJ simply shrugged; he truly didn’t know.

“Cross is not exactly the best when it comes down to talking about emotions, so it does make sense he never tried to go actually win Neah back.” Sheryl pointed out.

“I just figured that he had spent so many years going from one lover to another that he just didn’t know how to act towards Neah in that regard.” Tyki agreed, but hey, if someone would understand this, it would be him. Allen too, but while Cross and him did it for the fun, Allen did it out of despair and hate. But just as he finished that sentence, he realised he had dug his own grave as everyone turned to look at him, although he realised that at least the twins and Road just did it because everyone else did, however, apparently, Lavi knew. And it could be just because Allen told him or because he had also picked up how much he was on his phone texting.

“Road, twins, could you… leave us alone with Tyki, please?” Sheryl said, all humour left of his voice.

“What? Why?”

“And why only us?

“What’s going on? Tell us too!”

Skinn, Toraido and Maashima grunted and stood up, picking the three of them and bringing them back into the house, closing the door behind them, a silent way of telling them to go on and that they’d stay with them. It was not that they were pushing them aside, the bouncers would explain it to them, but they didn’t need them around when they needed Tyki to open up.

“I’ll go with them too.” Lavi said, kissing his boyfriend’s cheek before disentangling himself from him.

“‘Kay.” He smiled sweetly to him, sitting up and kissing him on the lips, hand cupping the side of his face. “Thank you.” He mumbled low enough for only him to hear and Lavi hummed in response before leaving through the same door.

“So, are you going to tell us?” Fiidora asked.

“I-I…” Tyki squirmed uncomfortable on his seat, his eyes darting about everywhere but them. Tricia put one of her white, delicate hands on top of his.

“Calm down, ok? We are just worried Tyki, it’s not normal for you to behave this way.” She told him, her soft voice calming him almost immediately, but not enough for him to open up, not to so many people at least. “Would you mind leaving Allen, Sheryl and me with him, please?” She questioned and the others shared a glance before nodding and standing up, all of them patting the younger Portuguese somewhere to show comfort. “Thank you.”

And with that, Tyki found himself with his brother, his sister-in-law and the one he considered to be his baby brother. Sheryl stood up and sat besides him, hugging him by his shoulders. “What is it, dear?” He had always been good at reading his little brother, like all those times when he tried to hide the fact that the kids at their school were teasing him over being orphan and that their family was a fake, but this time… there were way too many options for him to see which one it was that was making Tyki hurt.

“I-I…” His throat had closed up. “I really like him.” He finally said and they all shared a quick glance. That was new, for him to admit to _like_ someone.

“Well then, what’s the matter? Does he not like you back, is that it?” Tricia asked.

“N-no. He did say he likes me back but he just won’t… go out with me.” He told them and the two eldest nodded: they had seen that coming. Tyki’s and Allen’s reputation was well known throughout other clubs just as many others, but with them, it was easy to retain their faces, Allen because of his hair and tattoo, and Tyki because he was just a Southern beauty, and the tattoo on his neck was also really easy to remember.

But Allen mostly had one night-stands and made that really clear from the very beginning and well, he had been lucky and Lavi had never heard of him before, and when he learned that Allen had an array of past lovers he shrugged it off. On the other hand, Tyki did go back to past lovers every now and then, which had led to more than one screaming match, either between the past lover and the lover he had at the moment or between the lover and Tyki.

“Did he say why?” Allen asked kneeling in front of him as Tricia had sat on his other side.

“Said he wouldn’t go out with me until I proved him that I wasn’t just after his body and that I was not a manwhore.”

“Well, have you?” The albino asked again, the other two letting him conduct him the conversation because in the end, Allen had lived with Cross who was just the biggest manwhore in the history of mankind, no one understood people like them better than Allen. And Tricia had the sneaking suspicion that he had helped the redhead with Neah, it was such an Allen thing to do.

“What?” He looked at him as if it was the first time he saw the albino.

Allen frowned a bit, straightening up a bit. “You are _not_ just after his body, are you?”

“No! I mean, he _is_ gorgeous but it’s not only that what did it. He… is really cold on the outside, you know, like the stereotypical German and he’s really serious and by the book most of the time but when he laughs… I swear I have never heard anything more beautiful than his laugh.” Allen smiled, oh yeah, that was good blackmailing stuff. “And he’s smart too, like you know, you smart.” He said looking at his brother.

“Where did you meet?” The woman asked. “Poker?”

“I wish! No, I met him at this famous bakery from Edgware…” He frowned, trying to remember the name, but it just would come to his mind. “They make awesome nordic and german pastries?” He told Allen in hope that he’d have heard of it.

“Oh! Schloss von Kuchen?” It was definitely one of the most famous bakeries in London, although it had just started running the year before. “Wait, you don’t like sweets, what were you doing there? Where you stalking him?”

“What? Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. He works there. I just went there to get you, Jazz and Road a sweet before coming back and he was just filling one of the empty trays and... “ He shrugged. “Then I saw him in the Cafe de Paris and we talked and everything was fucking great, until I told him my name.” He finished and Sheryl grabbed his hand. “And then he just stood up, slammed a piece of paper with his number and name in it and said that.”

“Well, why don’t you tell him to come over one day? Or why don’t you take him somewhere?” The elder brother asked softly.

“Have you not listened? He doesn’t want to go on a date with me. I don’t… know how to do the dating thing.” He said and Allen smiled before standing up, kissing his cheek.

“I think I better leave you alone. And don’t worry Tyki, you’ll figure it out.”

“I’ll go with him.” Tricia announced. “You’ll do good by him, I know that.” She told her brother-in-law and hugged him briefly, kissing her fiancee on the lips.

And as soon as they were alone, Tyki hugged his brother back, tightly and gripped his shirt. “Oh Tyki...” He started to rock both of them, like he used when they were children and his baby brother was upset. “Everything will be alright…”

“I-it won’t. He doesn’t like me, does he?” He sobbed. It was hard to let go in front of other people, even Allen and Tricia, but when it was only his big brother, he felt like he could act upon his real feelings and cry his eyes out if he needed to. He just felt _safe_ with him, having his arms wrapped around him.

“There is no person in this world that wouldn’t like you, Tyki… You are gorgeous and a good person, the amount of people you have slept with doesn’t define you, despite of what most people think.” He pulled him off him enough to look at him straight in the eye.

“What if I’m being punished? What if this is what I get for sleeping around all those years?” He asked, latching himself onto Sheryl again, and he was almost sitting on his lap by now.

“Now c’mon, don’t be silly. You are not being punished for anything. Listen here, si? If people got punished because they slept around, what do you have to say about Al? Did he not find the right person for him? Doesn’t Lavi love him as much as Allen loves him?”

“Y-yeah, he does. They do.”

“Exactly. What about Cross and Neah? Haven’t they been happy for the past 6 years?” He nodded again, still not letting go of him. “Fight for him, you hear me? You are a smart man, you know what you need to do.”

“But I don’t…” He looked down, clearly embarrassed. “What are you supposed to do on a date?” He asked, looking up at him with big, expecting eyes.

“Well, you are supposed to make them enjoy your time together and believe me, even if it’s something you don’t like much, if you manage to have a great time together, you might find yourself enjoying it.”

Tyki nodded in understanding. “Like going to IKEA?”

“Not _that_ much.” He shoved him playfully, happy to see his baby brother back to normal. “But you are a lucky one because it’s a he and not a she. Same for Allen and Wisely. So think about what he likes and what you like and see if there’s a common ground. Like Allen and Lavi did by going to that literature tour. However, what I would do first, would be to go to the bakery and ask to talk to him, let him know he really matters to you, don’t just hide behind a screen like you’ve been doing all this time.”

“Okay. I can do that.” He nodded, slowly letting his brother free. “And… thank you for helping me.”

“I’m your big brother, of course I’d help you, especially about things that upset you or make me worry about you.” He kissed his forehead. “Now, what’s his name?”

“Ah… Link, Howard Link, but he doesn’t like his name much so he goes by his surname.” He answered. “Isn’t it awfully silent in there?” He suddenly said and yes, there was no sound coming from the other side of the door.

“Well, let’s go see.” They stood up and Sheryl kissed him again on his forehead. “I love you.”

Tyki smiled, hugging him for a second. “I love you too.”

When they opened the door, they sighed: they were making Tricia take the Harry Potter Sorting test. The twins were cuddling on the armchair and texting their boyfriend, Road, Fiidora and Lulu were around Tricia while she did the test, Maashima, Skinn and Toraido were watching a football game, Madrid vs Arsenal if Sheryl understood correctly, Maitora was fiddling with another of her gadgets, Wisely was on his phone, definitely with his own boyfriend and the couple had just sat down on one of the sofas, cuddling and playing on their phones. Everyone looked up when they entered, but said nothing and went back to their previous activities.

“I can’t believe it!” Road exclaimed. “How are you not a Hufflepuff?” At that, everyone gathered around the laptop, every single one gaping at the green and silver bathing the screen.

“What?” Everyone was looking  at Tricia, who was only smiling sweetly, but there was a naughty glint in her eyes.

“Yes! We also finally a woman in the team!” Devitto cheered, hugging her, the woman laughing cheerily and hugging him back.

“But I don’t understand how she got sorted into Slytherin.” Maashima said. “She looks so… so… Hufflepuff!”

“Well… She does make Sheryl do whatever she wants without him even arguing.” Maitora pointed out.

“And she always wins at Cluedo.” Allen grumbled: he was such a sore loser.

“And she’s sneaky too. Remember that time she organised us an anniversary surprise party when the club had been opened for 3 years?” Road added: Tricia had managed to convince each one of them that they were planning a party for another one.

“Wait a second, do you not realise that means that Gryffindors and Slytherin _are_ compatible?” Lavi suddenly asked and everyone looked at him, their eyes opening wide.

“Yes! It true! We can shut everyone mouths who said this would never be possible!” Jasdero yelled.

“I still don’t understand it. And here I had thought that I had figured you out already.” Sheryl grumbled, sitting on the armrest of her chair, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Don’t you know women can’t be figured out completely?” Fiidora told him, arching an eyebrow.

“Because men are so easy to understand, right?” Road snarled,huffing.

And before that became a full on argument, Tricia swiftly interrupted. “Now, now, calm down. Weren’t we supposed to be cleaning?” And a chorus of grumbled was all the answer she got.

“That was a very Slytherin move, though.” Maitora said as she stretched, thinking, before breaking in a full tooth smile. “I have an idea.”

“Should we be scared?” Toraido questioned: her ideas weren’t always the safest option.

“Not this time: Slys and Ravens vs Huffies and Gryffs cleaning competition.” She announced and everyone cheered and accepted it.

* * *

“I’m going to die.” Lavi moaned as he slumped face first on the bed, Allen sitting down and starting to undress. “You are all so crazy.” He turned around to watch Allen pull his pants off, licking his lips at the sight.

“Oh c’mon! You can’t say you didn’t have fun.” He slipped into his pyjama bottoms and laid next to him, cuddling in close, Lavi more than happy to wrap his arms around him, laying on his side too.

“Never said I didn’t. And _you_ are a sneaky bastard.” He mumbled.

They had split the room in a perfect half and decided that the first team to have it squeaky clean would win. What they hadn’t expected was for Allen and Maitora to somehow smash two of the bulbs in the other half of the room, effectively delaying them. And because they hadn’t set any rules down, the yellow and red team could not complain.

“Comes with the Slytherin title. And I really hate losing.” He replied, his eyes shuttering closed. “I’m tired.”

“Mh-hm. Me too. Let’s get under the covers, yeah?” Allen nodded and slowly climbed inside, sighing when his head touched the pillow.

“Is you’r ches’t hu’rting?” He questioned, his accent rapidly thickening up.

“I can’t feel a thing, don’t worry.” He turned around and pressed his chest against the albino’s back. “Good night babe.”

“Good night da’rling.” He replied, his hands covering Lavi’s as he turned to peck kiss lips. And suddenly, he found himself catching his tongue before he said the 1-4-3 sentence.

**Lavi kissed the top of his head before closing his eyes.**


	7. Chapter 7

When Lavi woke up, the first thing he saw was Allen, half naked, with his laptop on a wood laptop table and with his headphones on. He looked so sexy like this, but he looked so cute at the same time with his bed head and chewing on his lip. Slowly, he moved and kissed his thigh, licking it shortly, silver eyes looking at him before a small smile graced his lips, and then he pushed his headphones to his neck.

“Good morning.” His black hand found it’s way to his head, massaging the scalp and he just purred in response. “And you call me kitten.” Lavi chuckled before opening his eye again.

“Come down here.” He tugged the end of his hair and Allen rolled his eyes, but still set everything on the floor before laying next to him, letting Lavi hover over him as they kissed.

And it just felt wonderful to be like that with him, to be able to do this in the morning, with no rush, Lavi had gotten down and then reversed their positions, leaving the albino on top of him with his bigger hands on the DJ’s waist. The journalist moaned softly when Allen pushed his tongue inside and suddenly, a vision of that being their way to wake up in a Sunday morning the rest of their life filled his mind, and he wanted that. He wanted very much to have a life to share with his boyfriend. 

And slowly, Allen started to slower their kisses until he finally pulled away, sitting on the American’s stomach. “Allen? Is there something wrong?” He tapped on his thigh so he could sit up too.

“Would you be mad at me if… I asked you to remove your patch? At least while we are alone?” He asked, frowning and not looking at him.

Lavi swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He shouldn’t do it. He would not be able to move on if Allen dumped him because of how he really looked. He couldn’t do it. He knew how he looked, he saw it everyday in the mirror. Allen reached for him, his black fingers grazing his wrist, but he recoiled, flinching back and shaking his head. He could see it: Allen looking at him in disgust and laughing at him, Allen telling his family about it, they laughing at him, kicking him out, Allen telling him to never seek for him again, that everything had been for fun, that he meant nothing, that he wanted nothing to do with something as repulsive as him, that he was a joke, never anything above a sex toy…

Allen’s eyes widened at the sight of tears and he tried to reach for him again, calling his name as softly as he could, avoiding any sudden move, but he seemed so far away from him right not, too deep in his mind to even hear, or see, him. And as soon as his finger touched him again, Lavi flinched again, this time scooting backwards, against the headboard.

_ ‘You are a disgrace. So disgusting. Just think about it, you have been blemished since birth, why would he want anything to do with you? You are fucked up. Ha! Crying like a baby. Did you really expect him to feel something for you other than lust? He doesn’t love you, and he never will. I mean, have you even seen his brothers? Why would he stay with you if Tyki’s around? Or Toraido, with those big muscles… What do you have? Skinny arms, no abs, and just one eye! I wouldn’t lose my time with you either. There is a reason mommy and daddy dumped you. Because you are such a useless, disgusting piece of trash. Not even your parents could stand the sight of you!’ The voice was laughing now, cruel and cold. ‘Face it trash, you are no good and no one loves you. Not even your so called grandfather likes you, why do you think he sent you off to London while he stayed in Paris? Not even your own grandparents wanted you under their roof. Did you really think Neah was talking seriously when he said you’d always have a place in here? Don’t be stupid, why would he want you here it’s not like you do anything here! Or anywhere else, actually.’ _

The voice was right, he  _ was  _ a worthless piece of trash, there was nothing he was good at, he couldn’t even be at his workplace without feeling watched and threatened every time someone walked by. Because they knew, they knew how he looked like from that time they had pulled the eyepatch off his face, revealing his eye. He should have died when he was born, it would have been so much easier. 

Allen was scared now: Lavi was shivering and gasping for air, his eye unfocused, tears streaming down his face, his head moving from side to side, his hands holding it and covering his ears. He should go find Wisely or Tricia, they would probably know what to do better than anyone, but he was frozen in place, watching the man he cared the most about, the man of his dreams hurting like that. He had to snap him out of it, but he didn’t know how, so he tried to reach for him, this time enveloping him in a hug, holding him into place.

“Lavi, please. Please. Come back. I’m not sure if this is what you are thinking, but just know that I’d never leave you like that, and even less because of the way you look. I couldn’t care less about it.” At least he had stopped trembling and was starting to regain his breathing. “I think you are one of the most amazing people in my life and I consider myself the luckiest person in this world to have you by my side and for being able to call you my boyfriend. And I’d never give that up unless if it’s what you want.”

_ ‘Do you really believe him? He’s a cheater, he has told you so himself, he just wants you to keep using you as his sex toy.’ _

“I want to have a life with you, to live with you. I would like to move in with you later on, have a cat… or dog, or both. I want to get home and be able to say ‘I’m home’ or ‘Welcome back…”

_ ‘Lies. Lies. Everything he’s says is a lie. He’s lying, you know that.’ _

“And I want that with you, only you.” Tentatively he kissed him, just adding pressure to his lips and keeping his tongue into his mouth.

Lavi blinked before hugging him tightly. “Really?” He choked, his voice raspy from crying, tears still going down his cheeks, but not as abundantly as before.

“Y-yeah. Really.” He hid his face in the red hair, trying to calm his pounding heart. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. You don’t have to show me. I was just curious. You always wear the patch around me, even at the shower or when sleeping and… I don’t know, I just wanted to see you whole, to know the real you.” He told him, stroking his hair.

“It’s not pretty to look at.” He rasped, still not pulling away. “A lot of people just shut me out when they saw it as a kid that I… I’d die if you left me.”

“Lavi, bunny, as I said, I don’t care. It’s not only your body that I like, it’s the whole of you. And then again, I think you have forgotten that I have whole arm tattooed?” He brushed the red bangs out of his eyes, smiling lovingly. “How about this? You take the patch off and I tell you the reason I got the tattoos in the first place.”

“You’d… do that for me?” He seemed bewildered, but he had seen how Allen looked down as if ashamed when someone talked about his arm, even if it had happened only a couple of times.

“What? Of course I’d do that for you. It’s not fair you are the only one who has to do something you don’t feel comfortable with. And it only makes sense that if I want to know everything from you, I tell you everything about myself, right?” Lavi nodded, straightening up a bit before kissing him, for reassurance.

With trembling hands he reached behind his head, pulling the strings and undoing the knot, slowly taking the patch off, quickly hiding his face in his shoulder, but Allen simply reached for him, putting a finger under his chin and making him look up.

His eye twitched a bit at the sight, but it was nothing as horrible as he had expected: his whole eye looked as if it was drenched in blood or something, the green of his iris looking maroonish. He also had the area surrounding it cut and burnt, his lashes visibly shorter than his other eye. But it was nothing like what he had envisioned, he had imagined a whole of some sorts, a glass eye maybe…

“Can you say something?” Lavi asked, voice so small and fragile that it broke the albino’s heart.

“Sorry.” He brushed his cheek. “I wasn’t expecting this. I thought it’d be much worse.” He kissed his eyes softly, first his good one and then the scarred one, hearing him gasp. “What happened? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, though.”

Lavi shook his head, moving to cuddle against him. “Apparently a vein exploded when I was born, but it was between the sticky surface of the eye and the actual eyeball, so there was no way to take it out except for cutting it off. The doctors believed that it would be back to normal in a few weeks, but it didn’t, somehow the blood had dyed it all red, they don’t understand it.” He moved even closer, Allen’s arms quickly enveloping him. “They hated it. My parents, I mean. They… used to hit me. They were very religious, you know? They thought I was cursed. So they tried to… to… cut it out, but that of course didn’t work and I was bleeding a lot, so they… just burnt it to stop the blood. And then they started to make me wear the patch. I was… around three, I think.” He explained, closing his eyes before smirking sadly. “Awesome parents, huh?”

And Allen saw red: how could anyone do that to a child? And to someone as beautiful as his boyfriend. If it were for him, they’d be dead. Deader than dead. And they hurt him just because he had a problem in his eye? Weren’t parents supposed to love their children no matter what?

“Shit.” Lavi muttered under his breath. “I’m sorry babe.”

“What? Why?”

Lavi blinked, confused, before he realised that Allen hadn’t even taken to account that his own parents had abandoned him right after he was born. “Your parents…” He trailed off, shrugging, not knowing how to word it.

“Oh. I don’t give a shit about them. I don’t consider them my parents. Mana was my first father. Cross is my dad and Neah is my uncle, that’s all I need.” He replied, his voice cold and distant. “I just… what they did to me was unfair, but I got to have another family, I got to know unconditional love from Mana, and eventually Cross, but you… You had to go through all of that before being with your grandfather. You have it so much worse than me, I was just left to die, you were abused.”

Lavi took a deep breath before nodding. “I know. They fucked me up real bad but… They left you to  _ die _ Allen, no one should ever do that! Do you even know why?” He was exasperated: yeah, his parents were shit and abused him both physically and mentally, but they still fed him and gave him a bed. Allen’s biological parents? They abandoned him when he was just a few days old to die. It was a miracle he even survived. “Do you know why?”

He shrugged, carelessly. “Cross found them a few years ago. He, uh… He thought that maybe I’d be better of with them than with him, it was right after the accident, said he wasn’t good enough for me.” His eyes saddened for a moment and Lavi hugged him. “They did open the door but I heard kids inside and… It hurt, you know? Knowing that they abandoned me and then they went and had more kids.” he laughed humorlessly. “What was I supposed to do? Step in and say ‘Hello mother, hello father. Remember me? You abandoned me on the streets when I was just a newborn, how’s your life?’ and hear them make excuses. She cried, when she saw me she cried, tried to hug me.”

“Tried?” He prided in gently.

“I… I couldn’t let her touch me. Not after I heard the kids. They didn’t care about me, never had and never would. I was just a stranger in their eyes, they were strangers in mine, too. So I just turned around and went to the car with Cross, hugging him. I… I asked for him to let me stay with him, promised him that I wouldn’t get into trouble, I begged for him not to  _ abandon _ me.” He bit his lip, smiling, and thank God it wasn’t a sad one. “That was the first and only time I saw dad cry, told me that I was  _ his _ son.”

“He does love you very much, anyone can see it.” Lavi told him, kissing his nose. “You have no idea how scared I was when I met him.”

“Yeah, he’s scary.” He conceded before standing up, Lavi hands tightening around him, obviously still scared about being dumped. “Just a minute.” He whispered and the redhead nodded, but his eyes still followed him through the room.

Lavi watched him go to the shelves on the wall and take a deep breath, steeling himself, but his hands were trembling like crazy when he went to take something from it. “Babe, you don’t have to if…” 

Allen shook his head. “No. I said I’d do and I will do it. You did it, for me. A-and I want you to know, what I really look like under the ink.” He said and pulled a folder, climbing on the bed again and giving it to him. “Y-you look at it.” He had brought his knees to his chest and was hiding his face from him.

“Babe…” He sighed, scoffing in his mind: what a pair they were, both physically and mentally scarred and with deep, rooted emotional problems. But he knew that now they had come out clean about what scared them and what they needed most reassurance about, nothing would be able to stop them. 

He opened the folder and his breath got caught up in his throat: they were photographies from the hospital. Allen was on a bed with his head bandaged, his arm raging red and burned, uncovered so it would dry, leaving it for all eyes to see, he also had a leg in a cast and his hair looked maroon and white, his eyes already silver.

“I… The medicine they gave me for my leg bleached my hair and made my eyes turn silver, we don’t know why though, the doctors didn’t understand it and dad and Neah refused to let them do any experiment on me to see what was going on. The leg healed up really good though, I don’t even have scars there.” He wiggled it, smiling. “But my arm… There was no way I could have it back to normal. Even if the skin regenerated pretty good given the circumstances, the raging red color was still there. It was too easy to know what happened and people were always asking and pitying me and you know, being assholes, in general. So I had it tattooed, this way it’s also impossible to see the scars.”

Lavi nodded and gathered him into his lap, kissing the star on his forehead. “What about this one?”

“Nothing really. I just wanted it. There’s no scar in my face, if that’s what you are asking, I just really liked the design.” He told him, resting his head on his shoulder. “I… I couldn’t bear anyone near me after I got out of the hospital, so dad called the one person he knew that could get passed my barriers.”

“Nalei. He told us.” He nodded, his fingers drawing random patterns on his hip.

“It was easy with him. And not long after everyone just accepted me as another sibling. That meant a lot, for me. To finally have a family and a place to call home.” He explained. “There isn’t much after that, though. I just… don’t like people seeing what’s really under the ink. Makes them ask questions, and feel pity and…” He shook his head, before smiling at him. “But I’m glad I told you.”

Lavi smiled and kissed his head. “I’m glad you did. I’m glad I told you, too.” Allen nodded before moving to lay down again, this time on his stomach, Lavi following suit. “What now?”

“No idea. Talks like this make me hungry. I guess Maa and Sheryl will be done in around twenty minutes.” He replied, glancing at the clock. 

Lavi nodded and rolled out of bed. “Shower now or later?”

“Now.” The albino sat up and smiled at him. “Your chest?”

“Fine.” His hand seized Allen’s as soon as the youngest stood up, still needing reassurance he was not going to be kick out.

“Good.” He went on tiptoes and kissed his lips sweetly.

They showered quickly and slipped into the previous day’s clothes. When they entered the dining room Allen’s smile brightened a bit. “Dad! You didn’t tell me you were coming!” He trotted to him and kissed his cheek.

“Neah sent me ahead so I could help you kids moving things out, but I see you all handled it perfectly.” Allen nodded, grinning, as he sat on his chair, Lavi already having taken sit. “Hello Lavi.”

“Hi Mr. Marian.” He replied.

“Please, call me Cross. I have enough with my students calling me that way.” The man groaned and Tyki, who was also there, chuckled. “Shut it boy.” The man told him.

“Yes Cross!” It was sing-songed, but his smirk turned more into a genuine smile. Sure, Cross had come late into their lives, but they all saw the man as another parental reference to Neah, Adam having drift into the backgrounds of their minds.  “Where’s everybody anyway? I’m starving!”

“That’s a good question. Ring the bell, will you?” Cross commanded and Tyki’s eyes opened in delight before he stood up and pressed a black button on the wall.

“The fuck?” Lavi yelped when a loud alarm filled the house.

Allen laughed merrily before answering him. “We only use it when no one is here in time, it’s faster than just going door to door and definitely much more effective.”

“And drastic.” Lavi completed.

“And drastic.” Allen agreed. “But, as I said…” He pointed at the stairs from where everyone was coming down, running and almost fleeting, even if all of them looked still half-asleep. “Effective.”

“Uncle Cross!” Road exclaimed, flying to the man and hugging him, kissing his cheek. The man hugged her briefly before finding his arms full with the twins, Jasdero giggling like a madman.

And then every single one just kissed or hugged him before going to their places. Lavi didn’t miss how Cross’ smile seemed to widen and sweeten at that blatant display of love and affection.

They spent the day around cleaning again until 7pm when Lavi walked up to his boyfriend and kissed his ear. “Kitten.”

“Yeah bunny?” He didn’t stop cleaning the speakers, a small and soft brush in his hand.

“I’m going to have to leave. I have to get up early, unlike some other people.” He whispered, his arms wrapping around his waist. Allen pouted, turning around: he really didn’t want him to leave. “Aw babe…” He bent and kissed him. “I’ll call you later?” He offered.

“You better. Or I’ll wake you up when I’m having lunch.” He grinned and smooched his cheek.

“I’ll turn my phone off, then.” He straightened and kissed his cheek. 

“Meanie.” He kissed his cheek in return. “I’ll walk you to the car.” He said, standing up from the stool and going outside with him. When they reached it, Allen hugged him by his waist. “Would you like to have dinner together at some point this week?”

“Of course. Also, we should do a dinner with the guys, Lenalee’s been bitching she doesn’t get to see you much and that I’m stealing you.” He said. “Say, why don’t you come on Wednesday? Bring Wisely over too.” He nuzzled his head.

“Sounds awesome.” He went on tiptoes and kissed him. “I’ll miss you.”

“It’s only three days babe.” Lavi replied, smiling. “We’ve been longer without seeing each other.”

“I know. But… I hadn’t slept with you in a bed yet.” He mumbled. “I liked you holding me.”

“Yeah, me too.” He bent and kissed his lips again. “I’ll come by on Friday, yeah?”

“Yeah. Will you stay?”

“Of course babes. Should I try and drag Nalei along?”

“Yeah, you should. I’ll try and talk to him into it too.” He smiled and stepped away, smiling shyly. “Call when you get home, yeah?”

“Of course.” Lavi kissed him one more time before going into his car. “Bye kitten.”

“Bye bunny.” He waved his hand and sighed, feeling slightly ridiculous.

* * *

“Are you ready or what Wisely?” Allen yelled, waiting for the other albino.

“I can’t find my other shoe!” He yelled.

“Of fucking Jesus christ… Just put on another pair, then!” Wisely grumbled something in reply that he didn’t quite got, but five minutes later Wisely was next to him. “Thank God! How can you take you so long?”

“Because I don’t just throw the first thing I find on the closet like somebody else!” He replied, shoving him to the side. 

“Do you want to get there walking, Wise?” Allen growled, but they both knew there was no real threat behind it. “Jump in.”

They spent the whole way bickering about this and that until it settled in a nice silence. The dinner had to be pushed down to Friday because Lavi was busy at work and Lenalee had a test of the same say on the morning and Allen was just itching to see his boyfriend again.

“Do you know where you are going…?” Wisely asked after the third time going around the same roundabout.

“Uh... Should call Lavi?” Allen offered, smiling weirdly.

“You think?” The elder sibling snarled, rolling his eyes.

“Could have called Nalei, too.” Allen muttered as he searched for Lavi on his contact list. “Hey babe. I think we are lost.” He announced as soon as Lavi picked up.

“Of course you are. Where are you now?” The redhead laughed. 

“Hm… There’s a butchery and a French restaurant… Can’t see the name. Also a shoemaker.” He replied.

“Hm. Facing down street right?” Allen hummed in agreement. “Go down and turn on the third corner, left. Then the second one the right. I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

“Thanks bunny.” He cut the call as he started the engine again and following the directions, smiling when he saw the redhead waiting for them under the threshold. Nalei next to him. Allen pulled at the entrance of their garage, stepping outside at the same time as Wisely. “Hello gorgeous.” He greeted flirtily, Lavi rolling his eyes before drawing him in, planting a kiss on his lips.

Allen smiled and let him deepen the kiss, opening his mouth for Lavi to enter. “Hello sexy.” Lavi whispered in response when they split up and rested his forehead on Allen’s. “Missed you.”

“Me too.” Allen smiled and kissed his cheek before stepping away, his eyes softening when he saw his cousin and his best friend hug. Wisely dropped a kiss on his head before stepping away too, his eyes contacting silver ones and a small smile spread on his lips.

Their relationships were so different: while Lavi and him had no problem letting the world know what they did, were doing and would do, Nalei and Wisely were much much much more reserved. Lavi and him would make out with no second glance to those around them, if they didn’t like it they could look the other way. Wisely and Nalei would just kiss briefly and hug in public, making a statement for everyone around them, but a quiet one. 

“Are you four coming in or what?” They looked up and saw Lenalee on the balcony and grinning: she probably saw everything.

“Yeah, yeah... “ Allen and Lavi waved her off at the same time, before starting to laugh. 

“Jinx!” Lavi said and Allen pulled a face, shoving him to the side. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll make sure to brush your bad luck later on.” He said, one hand slipping into Allen’s back pocket.

“Oh, you better.” He grumbled.

Wisely and Nalei followed them inside, shaking their heads: those two were just made for the other. 

“So, what did you two do this week?” Nalei asked, looking at his boyfriend.

“Cleaned and repainted the whole damn fucking place.” Wisely replied, holding his hand. “We’ll be smelling of paint for weeks.”

“Talk for yourself, Wisely.” Allen replied.

“Alright, we’ll be smelling of paint except for you and Maitora. Lucky bastards.” He grumbled as he rang the bell.

“Who’s a lucky bastard?” Alma asked opening the door.

“Allen, apparently. And one of his brothers.” Nalei answered.

“Sister.” Both albinos said absentmindedly: it was a common mistake.

“Huh. How come?” They all stepped into the house, taking their shoes off.

“Allen!” Lenalee interrupted jumping at him and hugging him tightly.

“Hey darling.” He hugged her and twirled her around a bit. “How was your test?”

“I think I did fine.” She replied as she went to hug Wisely. “Nice to see you again, Wisely.”

“Likewise.”

“Oi Yuu, come out and say hi!” Alma yelled.

“Like hell. They have legs, don’t they?” The Japanese one replied from the kitchen.

“Charming as ever, I see.” Allen said loud enough. “Seriously babe, how the fuck did you two even become friends?” 

“He can be tamed.” Lavi only replied smugly.

“I can be  _ what _ ?” And with that, a Kanda clad in an apron with a wooden spoon and sauce on his cheek came to a view, immediately sending Allen in a laughing fit. “How dare you say that, Usagi? And when have you ever tamed me? Or know someone who has ever tamed me? And why do you seem to think I’m a wild animal?” He was frowning now, ignoring the albino’s laugh.

“Oh don’t you worry Bakanda, you don’t look wild at all.” Allen managed to say between breaths, his arm wrapped around Lavi’s to keep his balance. “I mean have you seen how ridiculous you look?” Everyone was trying to keep a straight face, but Lavi and Alma ended up falling in a laughing fit too.

And before anyone could react, Kanda’s hand shot out and grabbed Allen by his shirt, pulling him.

“Maybe I should break your face.” He growled, his voice even colder than usual.

“Or maybe I should break yours.” Allen replied, his voice taking a dangerous edge.

“How about we all calm down?” Wisely said, putting a hand on his sibling’s chest and pushing him away from Kanda. “You too, ok? You don’t really want to do that.”

“And why not?” Kanda had backed out, Alma pulling him to the side and away. 

“Allen knows MAA. And he doesn’t really pull his punches.” Wisely replied, still holding the DJ down.

Lavi had wrapped an arm around his lover, kissing the star on his forehead. “Don’t destroy my home, yeah?” He whispered into his ear and Allen huffed, but nodded. “How about we sit down? Weren’t you starving?” That seemed to make Allen and Kanda snap to their now glaring contest. 

They sat around the table, Kanda and Allen sitting to opposite sides of the table and as far as it was physically possible one from the other. Lavi went to get the food, fearing that if Kanda was the one to do so he’d dump it on the younger albino or something.

And thank goodness, the dinner went smooth enough, the British and the Japanese ignoring each other and only throwing a few snide remarks at each other during the whole time. When the clock hit 3.00, the two albinos decided it was time to go back home.

“Can I come?” Lavi asked, when Allen and him were alone in the kitchen.

“Of course, you know that.” The musician smiled and kissed him, sweetly.

“Let me grab my bag.” He winked and went to his room, throwing some clothes in his go-bag and going back. When he walked out, he saw Lenalee scolding her childhood friends, but they were just smirking. “What’s going on?” He asked Alma, knowing that Kanda, who was standing next to his boyfriend, wouldn’t even bother to reply.

“Something about an anniversary or something, I’m not sure.” The half Spaniard replied, shrugging. “How’s everything with Allen going?”

Lavi looked at him, mildly surprised: sure, they were friends, but they rarely talked of their relationships. Lavi didn’t ask him about Kanda and Alma had never asked about any previous boyfriend or fling. “Wonderfully.” He finally replied. “Introduced me to his soon-to-be-sister-in-law as his boyfriend.”

“He did?” Karma turned around, looking at him with eyes wide with surprise and… happiness. 

“Yeah. Went on a date, too.” He told him and he saw how Kanda looked at them, narrowing his eyes before standing up and march to Allen. “Yuu!” He called, both of them going with him.

Everyone looked how the Japanese grabbed him by the collar once more, his eyes menacing. “You hurt him, I kill you, clear?”

Allen only arched an eyebrow before nodding, his eyes moving to the only redhead in the room, who was smiling softly now. Kanda released him and went back to Alma, who only smiled and kissed his cheek.

“You ready babe?” The DJ called out and Lavi nodded. “I’ll bring him back on Sunday.” He told Kanda, his hand slipping around Lavi’s waist and the ginger kissed the side of his head. “Lena, want me to drop you at your place?”

“Please! I hate having to take the subway at night, I feel like I’ll fall asleep and end up god knows where.” She said.

“Perfect. Then let’s go.” Lavi said, going to the door with Allen behind him. “See you later Yuu. Bye Alma!”

Everyone quickly said their goodbyes, Lenalee briefly hugging them before following the foursome outside. Lavi sat on the passenger seat, Allen on the driver’s, Lenalee behind him, Nalei in the middle and Wisely behind Lavi.

The way to Lenalee’s was filled with memories of the trio of their time together in China, Lavi and Wisely laughing or chuckling at their antics. She was happy. Not only because she had her best friends back, but because her friendship circle just kept getting bigger every time they saw each other. She was also happy that Lavi had finally found the right person for him, and the fact that this person was Allen, just made her ever happier. They both had suffered, they both deserved to be loved unconditionally and understood. She didn’t comment on it, but she saw Lavi’s hand move to Allen’s thigh and massage softly there, making Allen shoot him a sweet smile.

“Oh! There!” She exclaimed, pointing at her place. “Thanks for driving me, Ally.” She said, kissing his cheek. “And remember, if you two miss our date on Thursday, I’m castrating you both.”

“Hey! Anything but that Lena-lady!” The redhead exclaimed, throwing a protective arm around his boyfriend as he cupped his nether regions. “How will I fuck myself on his cock if you cut it off?” He pouted and she looked at him and then his hands, blushing like mad.

“I-I... “ She shook her head before shooting him a deadly glare. “You are impossible Lavi.”

“Should have seen his chest the other day.” Wisely said, grinning mischievously.

“His… chest?”

“Mh-hm. Allen scratched it so much his nipples were all puffed out.” 

“Oh, thanks for telling her about our sex life, asshole.” Allen grumbled, but he hadn’t removed the hand on his crotch. “Should I tell her about the hickeys you are hiding under your collar bones? Tyki called Lavi a vamp, but Nalei isn’t far behind, is he?”

“How did I get dragged in the middle of this?” The Indian one replied, throwing his hands into the air.

“The second you decided to be my best friend and date this asshole here.” The Englishman told him, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, don’t worry Lena, we won’t forget, promise.” He kissed her cheek and she got out of the car, waving them goodbye.

“Nalei, you coming with us to the club too?” Lavi asked, turning around, but his hand never moving from Allen’s thigh: he had forgot to talk him into it.

“No…?” He looked at Wisely dubiously who only smirked and his eyes quickly shifted to Allen, who also smirked. “If you wanted to take me to meet your family you could ask, Wise. This is kidnapping.” He grumbled, but leaned against him nonetheless.

“But where’s the fun if I just ask you?” The albino asked against his head, one hand rubbing circles on his arm.

The way back to the club was done in silence or whispered between the two couples. When they finally got there, Lavi wrapped an arm around Allen, still needing to feel him close. 

“We’re home!” Allen yelled as soon as the door clicked behind them and a chorus of ‘Hello’s and ‘Welcome back’ flooded from the dining/living room. After a round of hellos, hughs and fistbumps, Lavi settled on the free sofa, Allen quickly lying in front of him and making Lavi wrap around him, as he did that last time after they emptied the club, which left Wisely and Nalei awkwardly standing there.

“Uh… Guys, a minute please.” At that, everyone turned around, even Allen and Lavi looked at them. “Remember I told you I had a boyfriend while I was in Spain, right?” Everyone nodded: leave it to love and sex matters to make everyone listen and pay attention. “This is him, Nalei.” Everyone’s eyes settled on him. 

“Wait… Aren’t you Al’s best friend?” Road asked from her seat on the armchair, where she was reading a book.

“Yeah?” He cocked an eyebrow. “What about it?”

“Nothing, just curious. Do you talk about your sex lives?” She questioned.

“Road!” Tricia admonished, frowning. “What they talk about is nothing of your concern, alright?” She glared at the girl, who nodded, almost intimidated at the outburst from the usually sweet woman, but hey, she did turn out to be a Slytherin. “I’m Tricia, by the way.” She said, smiling sweetly at Nalei. “Wisely, be a gentlemen and introduce everyone.”

And he did so, pointing at everyone as he listed them, each one of them smiling or waving at him if they were busy, like Maitora or Lulu.

A few minutes later they were sitting on the table, with Lulu, the Portuguese brothers and Maashima, all of them talking and getting to know Nalei.

“Kitten?” Lavi mumbled into his ear, stroking his hair.

“Mmh?” 

“Can we go to sleep? I’m beaten.” He asked, his hand rubbing circles on his lower back.

“Yeah, of course.” They sat up and Allen smiled. “Why don’t you get going? I want to talk with Tyki for a sec.” Lavi nodded, guessing what it was he wanted to talk about with the younger Portuguese. 

“Night guys!”

“Night Lavi!” Everyone replied.

“Tyki?” Allen called and he looked up. “Can we talk for a minute?” He questioned, waiting for the reply, he was not going to pressure him to talk with him if he didn’t want to.

“Sure.” He stood up and walked to his room, Allen behind him. “What’s up?”

“Are you well?” He asked, not beating around the bush.

The elder shrugged. “Better. Been doing some thinking.” He explained. “I had thought I could go see him at his workplace next Wednesday.” 

“Seems like the right step to take to me.” He kissed his cheek. “You should bring him something.”

“Something? Like what?” His attention peaked up, looking at his baby brother.

“I don’t know. You said he was a baker, right? Why don’t you bring something to bake with? Something Portuguese? Or Spanish.” He suggested, smirking at the murderous look the Southerner shot him at the mention of his neighbouring country: ah, the good relationships between European countries, formed on battlegrounds, treasons, forced marriages and blood. 

“We don’t really bake with strange things, Al.” It was true, Southern cooking as just pure, mixing things but making sure they still tasted the same, keeping it as simple as possible. 

“Well, then bake something yourself for him. You are good at cooking, you should be able to make something for him, right?”

“Maybe? But I wouldn’t bake him something, he is one of the best bakers in the shop, Al, he’d just laugh at me.” He mumbled, wringing his hands together.

“Or not. C’mon, you are great at it, and maybe he’d see that you two have something in common to exploit.” He kissed his cheek and smiled. “Just try to be happy, yeah?’

“Yeah.” He croaked and hugged the albino, burying his face on his stomach. “Thank you Al.”

The DJ smiled and petted his hair lovingly. “You are welcome Tyki. Just… don’t try to hurry it up, go with the flow.”

“Okay.” he looked up and kissed his cheek, standing up. “Now go back to your boyfriend.” He flicked his nose and Allen chuckled before turning around and leaving.

When he entered the room, he did so silently, assuming that Lavi was already sleeping. He slipped into his pyjama pants without tuning the lights on and as soon as he crawled into the bed, Lavi turned around and enveloped him with his long limbs. 

“I thought you were already sleeping.” Allen mumbled, shifting to get more comfortable.

“Hm… No, I was waiting for you.” He tilted his head to kiss the albino. “Tyki?”

“He’s fine.” Allen replied, stealing a few more kisses from him, purring when Lavi scratched behind his ears. “How was work?”

“Usual. Busy.” He didn’t him about someone entering his computer and changing his desktop background to ‘faggot’ or someone loosening his chair so that it broke when he sat down. Allen didn’t need to know that. Or not yet, at least. “Yours?”

“Cleaned. Painted. Went shopping for the screens dad said we’d buy with him, Neah and Mai.” He replied, his eyes also starting to close. He sighed and burrowed closer to him. “Is your eyepatch on?” He mumbled and he felt Lavi tense up, so he kissed his lips and nose until he relaxed.

“D...Do you want me to take it off?” Lavi asked and the albino nodded. “Okay.” He undid the knot and set it on the bedside table.

“Thank you.” Allen whispered before kissing his right eye. “I like you better this way.” He whispered lovingly before kissing his lips again and Lavi only nodded, not trusting his voice. “Good night bunny.” 

“Good night kitten.” He whispered before hugging him tighter and kissing the top of his head.


	8. Chapter 8

Next morning, they were awakened by someone pounding on their door. “Allen! I want you down in the kitchen in forty minutes!” Fiidora’s voice boomed and Allen grumbled, sitting up, his hair all messed up from sleeping.

“‘Kay…” He stood up and kissed Lavi on the temple. “Sleep, I’ll come get you when it’s done.”

“Mkay…” Lavi mumbled, half asleep and burrowing further into the bed.

Allen sat beside him and stroke his hair, admiring him in his sleep. He was just so beautiful like that, with no patch to cover his deformity. The only thing he regretted about it was that his other eye wasn’t the beautiful emerald colour. That deep green was just so mesmerising, he could lose himself staring at it for hours, no care in the world, but the red and brown one, if not as beautiful, was just as breathtaking, even if Lavi didn’t think so himself.

He stood up and went to the shower, yawning.

“Morning Fii.” He greeted his older sibling. “What should we make?”

“Hm… Pancakes?” The man questioned.

“Sounds good. Blueberry, Nutella and banana? And orange juice?” He suggested.

“Sounds awesome.” Fiidora replied, starting handing him everything they needed to make breakfast. “How’re you and Lavi?”

“Oh, we are fine.” He beamed at him. “I missed him so much this week.” He blushed slightly as he measured the flour.

“Yeah, we noticed, I don’t think I have ever seen you smile so much and stare into nothing as I have this week.” He told him, brushing his hair away from his face. They had never been really close, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t love each other. “We are happy you finally found someone good for you. Chaozii can’t be even compared to Lavi.” Allen nodded, it was true. His ex-boyfriend had nothing to do against Lavi. Lavi was just everything he needed and had always been after of, Chaozii was everything had _thought_ he needed and wanted. And he was also his biggest regret. “There’s one thing that makes me wonder, though.”

“Hm? What?” He looked up from the batter.

“How does he keep up with a bag of crazy cats like you?” Allen shoved him to the side.

“Shut your trap, Fii.”

They worked between jokes and teasing each other until they finished, Allen washing his hands before going to wake everybody up, leaving Lavi for the last one.

“Three way pancakes today!” He yelled before he started to pound in every single door. “Hey lovebirds, get up already!” He said when he reached Wisely’s room, hearing the albino telling him off. “Love you too!” And with that, he entered his own room, sitting next to his ginger boyfriend, kissing his lips. “Wakey-wakey babe.”

“Mrhgmm…” Lavi swatted a hand his way.

“C’mon, I made pancakes. With banana. Aren’t those your favourite?” That at least got him a response as Lavi opened his left eye, green shinning sleepily. “Good morning.”

“‘Morning…” He grumbled, sitting up.

“You slept well?” Lavi nodded and leaned to kiss him. “You should go to the shower if you want to eat them hot.”

“Later. I’m hungry.” He stood up and headed the door, grabbing his eyepatch and putting it on. “You coming?”

“Yeap.” He went with him and took his hand in his’. He found it funny to see Lavi so disoriented and hungry. He liked it. He left him at the table, kissing his cheek before going to the kitchen to help Fii and Lulu to bring all the pancakes and orange juice jars and the coffee and tea makers out.

“Wow! You went big, huh?” Jasdero questioned, knife and fork already out.

“Yeap.” Allen set one platter and two jars down before sitting down on his place. He chuckled when he realised everyone looked as messy as his boyfriend, none of them having bothered on putting something else than their sleep clothes.

“Where are brother and Nalei?” Road questioned.

“Huh.” Everyone looked around.

“Hey Wisely! If you don’t want Al eating all your portions you should come down now!” Devitto yelled and Allen threw him his napkin.

“Touch my food Walker and I’ll kill you!” Nalei voice boomed as the door opened from side to side.

“It ain’t Walker anymore, asshole.” He said, rolling his eyes.

“And I ain’t calling your whole surname. Too long.” Nalei said, Wisely laughing in the back.

“Shut it Kamelot.” Allen growled and Lavi snorted, kissing his head as the other couple sat down on the two free chairs.

Breakfast went by as it normally did: full of teasing, jokes and the occasional piece of food flying by.

The weekend, much to Nalei’s dismay consisted of putting the club back together, talking, eating and sleeping. What he did like about it is that he was able to spend even more time with his boyfriend and best friend than he had since he had got there at once. And the Noah’s were all just hilarious and they seemed to like him as much as he liked them. He looked at Lavi, who seemed to be having the time of his life, joking with Maitora and helping her set up everything that Sheryl had assigned them.

“Alright guys, let’s take a break!” Maashima called and everyone stopped, sitting down in the nearest surface available, that being the floor for most of them, someone drawing a chair for Tricia.

Nalei smiled when he saw Lavi sitting between Allen’s legs, resting his head on his chest and the albino rest his hand on his stomach, thrumming his fingers. They were talking in whisper, so he could not make out what was it that they were saying, but with the way they both were smiling, he could guess it was something sappy.

Wisely sat next to him, his eyes going to the same direction. “What do you think?”

“Of them?” The albino nodded. “They are good for each other. Lavi makes him open up. He’ll never be as open as he used to be when we were kids, but… I think Lavi makes it easier for him. He showed him the photos of the accident.”

“He did?” Wisely stared at his boyfriend: no one had ever seen those photos aside from Neah and Cross. Maybe Tyki, but they’d never tell.

“Yeah. He sent me a message. Apparently Lavi took his patch off too. He didn’t tell me what it is underneath and I don’t particularly care to know, but I believe that was a huge step to take for the both of them.” Wisely nodded before wrapping an arm around him and pecking his lips, ignoring the low whistles.

* * *

‘Damn country, always freezing and raining.’ Lavi thought as he tightened the red scarf around his neck, sighing tiredly into it. It had been a tiring day: first the bus was packed, his coworkers had been as bad as usual, his boss had been yelling at him because of nothing and now, of course, had been raining. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out, smiling at the screen.

“Hey kitten!” He greeted. “How are you?” The hadn’t seen each other in two weeks because of their work: Allen had been out of town and he had to finish his articles.

“ **Fine. We found the place!”** He was excited, it was easy to tell. Neah had been looking for a new place to open another Ark in Liverpool, so he had asked Wisely, Maitora, Sheryl and Allen to go with him to have their professional opinion. “ **When it’s ready you’ll have to come see it. It’s a bit smaller than the one in London and it won’t have rooms, obviously. But it’s so neat!”**

“That awesome babe. Who’ll work there, though? Are some of you going to be move to Liverpool?” _Are you going to move there?_ Was the question that went without asking.

“ **Hm, Lulu and Maa might have to for a couple of months to train everyone. This one won’t have a VIP area for now, so Tyki will stay. Maybe Sheryl to get all the papers in order, but we still have to remodel it and everything, so it so won’t be ready for another six months.”** Allen explained. “ **How was your day?”**

“Usual, but it’s raining cats and dogs in here.” He sighed. “When are you back?”

“ **Tomorrow night. Are you home?”**

“Bus. Are you in the hotel?”

“ **Yeah. Why don’t you call me when you get there so I can tell you how much I miss you without you sounding extremely tired?”**

“That sounds like the best thing I have heard in all week. I’ll call you when I get there.”

“ **Mkay. I’ll go take a shower. I’m just glad I’m not rooming anymore.”**

“You are not?”

“ **Wisely had to come back first, so I have the room all to myself. Anyway, talk to you later.”** He blew him a kiss and Lavi chuckled before responding in kind before ending the call.

“I’m home Yuu!” He said as he entered, removing his shoes and stepping inside and smiling when he saw him surrounded by books and notebooks. “Have you eaten something?” He questioned.

“Instant ramen.”

“When?”

“Lunch.” Lavi sighed in resignation: it was always like this when he had exams and tests, he’d always forget to eat.

“I’ll make you a sandwich.” He said before stepping into the kitchen and quickly making him a sandwich and then an omelette for himself, eating while it was still hot. “I’m going to take a quick shower and then to bed, don’t go to sleep past 1am, you hear me?” Kanda only grumbled something in response, but Lavi knew that meant ok.

After showering he dried his hair before sneaking under the covers of his bed, sighing. He took his phone and called his boyfriend.

“ **Hey.”**

“Hey…” He drawled, burrowing even more under the soft sheets and blankets.

“ **You sound like you are about to sleep, why don’t we talk tomorrow?”** Allen suggested, but Lavi just sounded even more sleepy and tired than he did on the bus.

“No, it’s fine. I miss you. I’m just sorry that I might fall asleep on you.”

“ **Don’t worry… Why don’t I sing you to sleep?”** He suggested, his voice soft and warm to the ginger’s ears.

“I’d like that a lot.” He closed his eyes and yawned. “Do you know Whisky lullabies by Janet Devlin?”

“ **Of course. English or Gaelic?”**

“You know Gaelic?” He was a bit surprised at that, as Allen had never told him.

“ **Shisho is Irish, he taught me.”** He replied and Lavi heard the hustle of clothes, so he guessed Allen was also getting inside his bed.

“Hm… Sing it in Gaelic, I want to hear you singing in that.”

“ **As you wish.”**

His voice had dropped a couple of keys, low and deep and yet so warm and soft. Lavi imagined him, propped against the head of the bed with his phone in front of him and singing softly, just for him to hear. He didn’t understand Gaelic at all, but he knew the song by heart, the lyrics appearing at the back of his mind.

_When I was a child_   
_They'd ask me where’s it hurt_   
_And wipe the tears from my eyes_   
_Sure embraces,_   
_Gentle forehead kisses_   
_That making sure I was alright_   
_As I Grew Grew older and the nights shorter_   
_And where’s it hurt longer cared_

As the song went on and on, he felt his body relax and his eyes close, even if he fought to stay awake. The song held a lot of meaning to him, it was everything he had wanted as a child and never had. Allen’s voice died and he sighed.

“ **Baby?”**

“Yeah?” He could barely stay awake, but he wanted to know what his lover was going to say.

“ **I will always make sure you are alright.”** Allen told him, voice just as shushed, but filled with emotion in a way he had never heard in him.

“Thank you.” He replied. “Good night kitten.”

“ **Good night, bunny. I’ll call you tomorrow when we get to the club.”** He hummed in response. “ **I’ll end the call.”** He hummed again and heard the familiar ‘beep’ when Allen hung up, his eyes quickly closing as he fell in a restful sleep.

Allen smiled before standing up and going to find his uncle in his room. He knocked and waited.

“Dear? What is it?” He questioned.

“I uh…” He felt like a little child again, when he would run to him when he was lonely or scared. “Could I… sleep with you tonight?” He was staring at his bare feet, not daring to show the man his blushing cheeks.

“You too, huh?” Neah said as he tugged him in and Allen saw Maitora also standing there, just as awkward as he was. “What’s your reason?” Neah said as he climbed on the bed and lay in the middle, beckoning his children to join him, each one on his side.

“Miss sleeping with someone.” Allen mumbled as he climbed in and curled into a ball, not touching Neah. He didn’t need physical contact, just the warmth of someone else near him. He had grown used to sleeping next to Lavi at least three nights a week since they had started properly dating three months ago.

“By ‘someone’ you mean Lavi, right?” Neah teased, a hand resting on his head, combing the long albino hair and he nodded. “And you sweetheart?” He turned to his left, where Maitora was lying down, holding his hand.

“I… Nightmare.” She never elaborated much about her nightmares, but they all knew what is was about: her biological father abusing her. Neah had pulled her out of the adoption system as soon as he heard her story when she was five years old. She had been in the orphanage only for two months. It was not often than she dreamt of him and what he did to her, and even if so many years went by, she still was afraid that someone would do that to her again, which led her to only allow her family to touch her.

“He’ll never touch you again.” Neah bent over and kissed her forehead. “Good night dears.” He just hoped that Sheryl wouldn’t barge in too.

“Night Neah.”

“Night uncle.” Of all of his children, Allen was the only one to call him that and sometimes it saddened him to think that Allen would never view him like a father like he did with Cross or Mana, but then he would come to think of the little child he had once been and he would feel closer to him.

“I love you.” He mumbled and the two young adults nodded before falling asleep.

Neah sighed, their family as a whole was strong and united, but if you started picking every single member out they were all so broken inside: Maashima lost his fathers in a car accident, Skin had been raised in a sect, Fiidora had been pulled away from his parents when they both turned blind, Toraido never had a mother and his father died in a robbery when he went to buy his son a toy he had been asking for, the twins had meth addicts parents and their aunt had hated them since day one and gave them away, so as soon as he saw them in the adoption system, he knew he had to care for them Wisely and Road parents had been gunned down in a police operation, LuluBell was the daughter of a prostitute than in hopes to give her a better life had left her at the door of an orphanage at age 3.

Sheryl and Tyki had found themselves alone when their parents, fishers in Portugal, had died in a storm, their grandmother took care of them until she died a year later. Neah had found them in a park, Sheryl giving his little brother his ratio of bread. He had picked them up and asked if they’d like to go live with him and have more siblings. Tyki really liked the idea, because at age 4 he understood very little of what was going on, he just wanted someone to care for them. Sheryl had been a bit more reserved, and a few months later he had asked Neah if he was going to die to because of them. He had been dumbfounded at that question and when he asked him why he’d think this, Sheryl said that everyone around them died because of them. It took him an hour to calm the crying pre-teen down.

And well, then there was Allen, but the teen was not as open as everyone thought about his past, most of the times just refusing to talk about everything that happened before Mana took him in or between the time of his first father’s death and Cross’ arrival. He had caught him lying about it, explaining different version to everyone, to mask whatever it was that happened during those years. Probably he hadn’t told Lavi, either. But according to both Mana and Cross, it was very probably he survived by eating whatever he found, wherever he found it. And if someone tried to force him to talk about it, he would just shut everyone out. Only Tyki seemed to be able to calm him down when he was in that state.

Even as a child, even before the accident, the times Cross and Allen would stay at the manor for a few days before going away again, Allen seemed to be glued to Tyki all the time, and the elder didn’t seem to mind one bit, taking Allen as his little brother in a way he had never done before with any of his other adoptive siblings with the exception, maybe, of Road and Wisely. But Allen would always be Tyki’s favourite (excluding Sheryl, of course), same way Tyki would always be Allen’s.

Then there was Tricia, so fragile and strong at the same time. He had never seen someone besides himself or Cross to be able to manage all of his kids at the same time as Tricia did. Surely his elders were not children compared to her anymore, all of them being around the same age as her, but she was able to stop the twins and Road, make Allen not sound like a sailor most of the time and Wisely to stop being several universes from where they were. But her body and health were so delicate, that sometimes they feared a cold would kill her. And they all knew that would end up with Sheryl too, so they all cared for her, never leaving her alone for long periods of time or never allowing her to do great efforts, so she usually did most of the planning around the club, and she was great at that. And if their over-protection was something she hated, she had never said so.

And then there was Lavi. That child was also so broken. He did not know why and he would never pressure him to tell him, the same way he never asked any of his children to tell him about their past. If Lavi wanted him to know, he’d go tell him himself, and if he did not, he’d be just as happy. But by the way he had reacted when he mentioned his parents when they first met, he knew more or less where everything was going. And the patch covering his eye was also an issue that affected him deeply and not in a good way, but Allen had told him that he knew what was underneath and he was happy to know that at least the ginger had opened up to his boyfriend.

He didn’t know much about the twins’ boyfriend, Krory, only that he had a split personality disorder, but he was not dangerous to anyone, so he was happy his most boisterous sons had found someone right for them. Mimi, Lulu’s girlfriend, he knew from before as she used to be a server in the club and still helped in the private events, and she was such a happy carefree girl, and she made Lulu laugh and smile more, so he was more than content to have her around too.

Now, all he needed was to know Nalei a bit better. It had surprised him that fate had reunited Allen’s best friend with Wisely and turned them into a couple, but the boy was so sweet all the time it was impossible not to like him, he made Wisely to be more in Earth and less in the clouds, and bit more open with his affections. Although Allen seemed to be a bad influence on him if he had to judge by his huge mouth, too. And whenever the two friends were bickering the amount of swearing per sentence escalated drastically from what it was usual in their household.

Then again, Cross didn’t exactly have the cleanest mouth either, and they both grew around him.

He sighed and kissed their heads before closing his eyes. Yes, his family was big and broken sometimes, but it was his family nonetheless and he’d never give any of his children up.

He fell asleep with Cross in his mind, smiling sweetly.

* * *

He felt his cellphone in his pocket so he fished it, smiling when he saw who the caller was, and although it wasn’t strange for the ginger to call him at his time, he usually tried to avoid calling him when he was working. “Hey bunny! I’m a little busy right now, can I call…”

“ **Ally.”**

“Lena?” Why was she calling from his boyfriend’s phone? And why did she sound like she had been crying? Did something happen to her? “Lenalee? Are you alright? Did someone do anything to you?” He asked, setting his headphones on his neck.

“ **N-not me. I-it’s… Oh Allen…”** She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t get whatever she had to say to him out. He heard shushed noises at the other side and then Nalei. “ **Allen?”**

“Yeah? What’s going on? You are scaring me! What happened? Where’s Lavi?” He was panicking now: what the fuck was going on?

“ **He… Allen, he…”**

“He what Nalei? Is he in the hospital?”

“ **No! No. He’s not. We don’t know what happened, but someone beat him up.”**

He almost let the phone drop. “What? Nalei, what do you mean?”

“ **We don’t know! All I know is that Kanda called Lenalee, she called me to see if I could patch him up a bit, but he’s just trembling and asking for you! I can’t touch him, he’s only letting Kanda by his side.”** He sounded borderline hysterical. “ **You need to come, I know you are working but he might go into a panic attack.”**

Lavi trembling. Shaking. Crying. Holding his head. Hyperventilating. The images of what happened when he asked him to take his patch off flooded into his mind. “Put him on the phone.”

“ **What? Allen he can’t speak! He’s terrified!”**

“Now!” He barked as he stood up, rushing out and looking for the dark haired twin. “Bunny?” He questioned when a ragged breathing took over the phone. “I’m coming bunny, can you calm down for me? Please?” He begged.

“ **Allen…?”**

“Yeah baby, it’s me. I’m almost at the car, ok? I’ll be with you as soon as I can, I promise.” He told him, even if he lied about the car. “Nalei will finish to patch you up, ok?” He heard rustling on the other side. “Bunny? Is that ok or do you want to wait for me?”

“ **Wait.”**

“Alright. Give him the phone, yeah?”

“ **Allen?”**

“Can you wait for me to patch him up?”

“ **Yeah, of course. But hurry.”**

“Of course. I’ll find Devitto and put him on DJ and then I’ll come as fast as I can.”

“ **Ok, bye.”** Allen hung up the phone as he slammed the door to the VIP area open.

“Allen? What’s the meaning of this?” Tyki asked, frowning and obviously not happy at interruption.

“Lavi. Someone beat him up, I’m going there. Tell Devi to take care of DJing, alright?” Tyki nodded as he texted the elder twin.

“Is he alright?”

“Panicking. I’ll call you all later.” With that, he rushed out, only stopping to quickly tell Lulu to call Tyki. She did not ask why, probably seeing his frantic face.

When he arrived, Lenalee was waiting for him at the door, and the first thing she did was hug him, crying and trembling like a leaf. “I’m sorry, I was so scared I couldn’t even talk.” She apologised.

“I-it’s fine, Lena.” He wanted to go in, he _needed_ to, but he didn’t want to hurt her either.

“Let’s go inside.” They hurried upstairs and the first thing the albino did was drop to his knees in front of Lavi, not even bothering to assess his bruises and cuts.

“Bunny?” He whispered, taking his hands in his and sighing in relief when he didn’t pull away.

“Allen?” The ginger muttered and he shuffled closer, closing his eyes when Lavi touched his face, reassuring himself that the person crouched in front of him was indeed his boyfriend.

“Yeah baby, I’m here.” He kissed his hand before raising and sitting next to him, Kanda letting him wordlessly for once, and Lavi instantly curled next to him before breaking down in tears.

He wasn’t noisy, there was no snot, no hiccuping, not even sobbing, just an endless stream of tears flowing down his cheek and into the albino’s shirt. Allen started to rock him, whispering sweet nothings and calming words into his ear, Lenalee and Nalei going to the kitchen to make some hot beverage for everyone as Kanda went to call Alma.

“It’s alright baby, I’m here, I’m here now. Nothing is going to happen, I swear.” Allen was mumbling, willing his own tears away; seeing him like that shattered his heart over and over and made him burn with rage and hatred for those who broke his boyfriend. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there, it’ll never happen again.” Lavi wasn’t replying, he was just letting it all out now that he finally felt safe and cared for and _loved_. Especially loved.

He felt as if his body was on fire and just falling apart, his head was aching, his ribs felt like they had been crushed, he could barely move his right wrist and his whole face felt hot and like a balloon and his nose felt like it was broken. But Allen was here, cradling him and kissing him, ignoring the blood that he knew was all over his face and to know that he still _liked_ him was the best thing he could feel in that moment, it was exactly what he needed, too. To feel wanted.

“Lavi?” Allen mumbled when he had stopped crying and just started to hug him. “We need to let Nalei check you for any major injuries.” He nodded.

“You stay?”

“Of course babe.” He pushed the hair out of his face and kissed him on the lips. “I was so worried that you were in the hospital…” He mumbled.

“I’m sorry, I… wanted to call you, but I could barely move and…” He shook his head.

“How did you get here?” Allen asked, confused. He hadn’t given it time to think about it.

“Taxi. I was wearing a hoodie, he didn’t see my face.” He mumbled before cuddling closer. “Can we… talk about it later?”

“Of course.” He brushed his hair out of his face and kissed his head, before nuzzling it. “Just remember that I’ll always be here for you, yeah? Always.” Lavi nodded.

“Thank you…” He whispered and Allen shook his head, hugging him even closer.

“I’ll call Nalei, yeah?” Lavi nodded, but did not let go of him. “Nal? Can you come?” At that, his two best friends went back to their side, handing Allen a cup of tea and leaving what the albino identified as a camomille on the table, probably for Lavi.

Lavi let go of Allen, but still kept his hand gripping his left arm. Lenalee left the three of them alone and went to Kanda’s room, knocking softly before entering, a mug filled with green tea in her hand for him.

Nalei worked diligently, making sure not to spook Lavi and always telling him what he was going to do and what he found, all of his previous nervousness gone. He had disinfected all the cuts and was softly touching his nose.

“It’s not broken, but I need to put it back in place. It’s… going to hurt a bit, ok?” Lavi nodded before grabbing Allen’s hand, groaning when the Med student moved his nose back in place. “Well, that’s done. I… need you to remove your shirt.”

Allen moved on the sofa and started to unbutton it for Lavi before removing it. They both took a sharp intake of breath at that: his whole chest looked like a bruise. “We… we need to go to the hospital, I can’t do this. I don’t have enough preparation nor the right equipment…” Nalei said, looking at the DJ, who nodded in understandment.

“Lavi?” He called when Lavi started to tug his shirt back on.

“Can we go now, then? I want to be done with this as soon as possible.” Allen nodded and kissed his cheek, sighing in relief in his head when he saw his boyfriend coming back, at least for now.

“I’ll go get Kanda and Lena.” Nalei said, standing up and going there as Allen helped the redhead to put his shirt back on.

It wasn’t long until Kanda, Lenalee and Nalei were on Nalei’s car and Lavi and Allen on the other.

“Kitten?” He asked.

“Hm?” Lavi had his hand on his knee, still unable to not have physical contact with him, but he understood. He understood it all to well.

“If they make me stay there, will you stay with me?”

“You shouldn’t even ask this, of course I’ll stay. There’s no way I’m leaving you alone through this, you hear me?” He brought his hand to his lips and kissed it.

“Thank you.” Allen only smiled as he turned, car slowing down as they went to the emergency entry. The five of them entered together and made Lavi sit down. “I need to do something, you stay with them alright love?” The endearing term slipped from his mouth, but no one seemed to notice, no one except Lavi, that looked at him weirdly, but he nodded all the same.

“Where are you going?”

“To speed things up a little. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He started to turn around when Nalei and Lenalee both grabbed his arm.

“What are you going to do?” Nalei asked, his voice taking a weird rough end, Lenalee frowning.

“The one and only thing I remember Cross really teaching me before the accident. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill anybody, jeez.” He freed his arm and walked up the reception table.

The other four looked how he talked to the girl, who smiled, Allen then took a paper and wrote something down and then she called someone. She gave him the phone and Allen turned around, making sure no one could hear what he was saying nor read his lips. He then smiled at the girl before giving her the phone back and going back to Lavi.

“Allen…?”

“What the fuck was that, moyashi?” Kanda interrupted rudely, even if he moved to let him take a sit next to an equally curious Lavi.

“That’s called pulling a few strings. I’m going to guess Lena and Nalei never told you what dad’s job was when he picked me up.” Lavi shook his head. “He… was an intimidator. You needed to scare someone for whatever reason, you called him: respectable people, politicians, mobs… I think we even went to a military base once. So as years went by we gathered two things: a lot of hate and despair and a lot of contacts who would piss themselves upon hearing the surname Marian. And he made sure that at least five doctors at the emergency rooms in most of the main cities knew his name just in case bullets came out or something else happened. And if that didn’t work, he’d send me to make money and bribe them.”

Nalei scoffed at hearing that. “This is how you got to be alone in a room after your accident, right? And why you got released so fast.”

“Yeah. I mean, sure, his job was not the best one before he got with Neah, but at least something useful came out.” He wrapped an arm around Lavi’s waist and the ginger leaned against him.

“You never told me that.” He whispered, intertwining his fingers with Allen’s black ones.

“Yeah, dad told me to never use that method unless it was urgent, so we usually try and avoid to relate his name these days. If the University found out they could kick him out and that… that’s the last thing I want.” He muttered and Lavi kissed the side of his head, as he usually did.

“Won’t they talk?” Kanda questioned, arching an eyebrow.

“They know better.”

“Mr. Allen D. Marian-Campbell, Dr. Suez will see you now.” A nurse called out and the albino stood up, Lavi following suit and grasping his hand.

“We’ll wait here.” Lenalee told them, smiling tiredly and they nodded.

Allen pushed the door open and held it for him, and it was then that Lavi noticed that his eyes had taken a strange and unfamiliar coldness. He did not like seeing the usual happy and carefree silver orbs like that.

“Allen, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” Dr. Suez said and the youngest rolled his eyes, taking a seat next to Lavi.

“Yes, I’m sure it is.” He replied, his voice dripping acid and sarcasm. “Can you get to it now? I don’t plan on having to see your face more time than necessary.” He had crossed his arms over his chest and his legs, frowning and staring at him.

“Y-yeah. If you please…” Lavi stood up and went to the bed, Allen standing right next to him to help him remove his shirt.

Dr. Suez worked in silence, obviously afraid of the albino, who followed his every move the whole time, like a hawk. He bandaged him, seeing that his ribs were not open nor cracked after taking a radiography. He did have to put his wrist in a cast, though.

“It’s a miracle, but nothing is broken. Only your wrist is sprained.” The doctor announced as Allen helped his boyfriend dress again, kissing him on the lips sweetly, cupping his cheek.

“Does he have to stay here?”

“I don’t see the need for it.” The man said. “I’ll give him some painkillers, though, just in case. Also, watch your kidneys, I didn’t see any lacerations, but they could appear in the next 24hours.” Allen nodded. “Also, what happened? I need a reason to fill in the report and the medical leave.”

“What happened is not important. And there will be no report. Just fill the medical leave.”

“Th-this is not…”

“I don’t care. Just do it, or else, you know what’s going to happen. I don’t think dad would be very happy to know that you neglected his son, right? I wonder what he’d do to you…” He smirked, a dark aura enveloping him.

“You can’t!” The man was panicking now.

“Try me. Now fill that medical leave so we can go.” He growled and the man _visibly_ paled.

However, Lavi felt his cheeks heat up at the new side of his boyfriend he was seeing: if he had thought that seeing him talk about poker and cards and cheating was hot, seeing him displaying that… dark side of his was just scalding. The security, the cold-bloodedness and the dangerous waves rolling off him were just something he had never seen in him before. And the way he looked, so much more mature… Hmm… That was something he was _not_ used to seeing in him and while he loved his bubbly boyfriend more than anything, watching him take charge and with such a rude demeanor, was something he could not help but lust after. He could see himself tied and gagged and Allen slowly and tortuously edging him and punishing him if he came without permission.

He shook his head lightly and mentally slapped himself: he was _not_ supposed to be thinking of things like that, not now. But he could not help but feel even safer and more protected after that display than he had felt before.

“Th-there it is.” The man handed them a paper and Allen read it before nodding and doubling it and putting it in his pocket. “Will you tell Mr. Marian that I helped you?” He asked, voice scared and jittery and Allen only nodded sharply. “Thank you very much.”

“Lavi, let’s go.” He looked at his lover and took his hand again. He still felt bad, he was still slightly scared, but Allen had just shook most of it out. At least for now, anyway. Sleeping was going to be a whole other thing.

“Everything ok?” Lenalee asked, standing up when they were near them.

“Yeah. Nothing broken.” Allen told her, gently waking Nalei up, who had fallen asleep curled on the seat. “Hey Nalei, wake up.” He blinked and groaned, sitting up. “C’mon, I’ll drop you at your place.” He said as he took the keys from his pocket. “Lena, take my car, I drop Nalei and then I drop you.” He gave his keys to the girl.

“Alright. Kanda, you coming with me?” She questioned and the Japanese nodded before putting his hand on Lavi’s shoulder and pressing softly, the redhead pressing his cheek against it. Allen would have felt jealous if he hadn’t know that this was what he had exactly done with Tyki when he comforted him after the accident. What he still did when he was upset and his big brother came talk to him and calm him down. It was no different, it was just a sibling comforting the other.

Allen had grasped Nalei by his wrist and had his other one wrapped around Lavi, stroking his hip bone. He led them to the car and helped Nalei get inside in the back seat, the eldest carefully sitting on the passenger’s seat.

“Allen?” He asked when they stopped at a traffic light some minutes later

“Yeah?”

“Will you… tell me about Cross and what you two did before you came to live here?” He asked, frowning. “I don’t mean now, it can wait bu…”

“Baby, you can ask me anything about any topic, if… I can, I’ll always tell you.” He moved to peck at his lips.

“Thank you…” He didn’t comment on the ‘love’ thing, he’d wait until they were alone.

Allen led Nalei upstairs and tucked him in, kissing his forehead and writing a thank you note for him next to his car’s keys. They dropped Lenalee next and she hugged and kissed the three of them, Lavi the longest. It wasn’t long until they were back in the duo’s apartment, Kanda quickly shutting himself in his room with a quick ‘Good night, you know where to find me.’

Allen helped him change into his pyjamas and then stripped down to his boxers and took one of the sweatpants Lavi offered him and tucked him in, removing his patch as slowly as possible and kissing his eye. He then lowered himself on the floor, next to his head and thanking them for having carpeted floor or else his ass would freeze.

“Get into bed with me.” Lavi mumbled.

“Not tired.” Allen replied, it was still early for him, it was barely 3am. “And you are hurt, I’ll sleep here on the floor, don’t worry.” He rested the back of his head next to his. “Want to talk about it?”

Lavi flinched and curled into a ball. “It happened so fast. I was walking back from work as usual, I was listening music when I ran into someone and dropped my phone. Apparently they didn’t like my background picture.” He told him bitterly and Allen frowned, confused. What did the image have to do with any of this? Wasn’t his background pic one of… Oh.

“Homophobes?” Allen asked in a whisper, kissing one of the ginger’s hands.

“Y-yeah.” He swallowed before continuing. “Said we shouldn’t live, that we were a disgrace… Usual stuff.” The DJ nodded. “They left me alone when they thought I had passed out.”

“They didn’t…?” He couldn’t finish. He couldn’t. Just thinking of them beating his lover to a pulp was bad enough, to imagine that either of them had… abused him, was too much.

“No! God, no.” Lavi reached for his face and kissed him, sweetly. “No. They didn’t, don’t worry.” He paused for a second before looking at him in the eye. “Would you have left me if they had?” At that, Allen turned around, kneeling.

“No! Of course not! Ha...Have I ever done anything that made you think that I’m that shallow?” He was hurt. Did Lavi, the person he cared the most in the whole world, think so low of him? He couldn’t think of something that he could have done or said to make him think like that.

“No, no, you have not.” Lavi was sitting now, his legs on either side of him and he cradled his face with his hand and the cast. “You might be one of the most thoughtful persons I have ever known. And I know you care for me. Hell, you fled here when they called you. You have no idea what that meant to me, that you’d leave the club to come calm and reassure me. I know how much you love your job there.”

Allen bit his lip, looking down a bit insecure before sighing and looking at him, a small, tentative smile playing on his lips. “Not as much as I love you.” He declared, softly, his cheeks burning.


	9. Chapter 9

 

Allen bit his lip, looking down a bit insecure before sighing and looking at him, a small, tentative smile playing on his lips. “Not as much as I love you.” He declared, softly, his cheeks burning.

Lavi only gaped at him. He could not believe it. He just couldn’t. Allen loved him. Allen. Loved. Him.  _ Him _ . Of all people, Allen had decided to love him. He had longed to hear those words. He had longed to say them outloud, too. Allen was just so perfect, so good to him that this was everything he had wished for after a few months of meeting in the club. He had always known they that had some sort of instant connexion, and that he fell for the albino harder than he had for any other person before. He loved everything about Allen: his eyes, his laugh, his sassiness, his rudeness, the way he acted towards his family… The only thing he would like to change was his relationship with Kanda, but he could not have everything, now could he?

“L-Lavi?” He looked down and saw how scared Allen looked. “I-it’s okay if you don’t… feel the same. I’ll still be by your side if you want so, I-I’ll leave you if you don’t, I’m not going to force myself on you...” He had backed away a bit, shuffling on his knees and resting his weight on his heels, head bowed down.

And now he realised that his silence was hurting his lover. That all the times people pushed him away for being different were running through his mind. He extended an arm and cupped his cheek, tilting his head up and his heart clenched when he saw the tear-filled eyes. He was not used to seeing him this broken, not even when he talked about Mana or when he told him about his arm.

“Oh babe…” He tugged at him lightly, as much as his hurting body allowed him. “I love you too… So much.” He leaned and brushed their lips together. “I’ve been meaning to tell you for a few weeks now, but I couldn’t find the right moment…” He smiled down at him. “When you called me ‘love’ at the hospital… I felt like melting, kitten, I was so happy I almost forgot why we were in the hospital. That’s how much you mean to me babe, you can literally make me forget pain.” He told him before pushing his hair back. “You alright?” The albino nodded before straightening and kissing him on the lips, ever so sweetly. “Get into bed with me? I… want you to hold me.”

“Kay.” He stood up and carefully got inside the bed, on the wall side. He didn’t lie down so Lavi rested his head by his thigh, closing his eyes and gripping the fabric. Allen looked at him sadly before he started brushing his hair with his fingers, carding it lightly. “Good night babe.”

“Good night.” The ginger breathed out as he started to fall into sleep that he knew, would not be as peaceful as he wanted it to be. But Allen was there for him, and that’d be enough for him so far.

It had been two hours and something since Lavi had fallen asleep and his legs were starting to feel slightly cramped, so he rolled him on his back softly before getting out of bed, going to get his phone to call home.

**“Allen!”** Road.  **“I’ll put you on speaker, everyone is here.”** She said and he heard everyone getting closer to the phone.  **“Tyki told us what happened. How is he?”**

“Could have been a lot worse.” He sat down on the sofa, sighing. 

**“Do you know what happened?”**

“Homophobes. He uh… He has a picture of us hugging as his background, they saw it and beat him up.” He was so mentally tired he didn’t even have energy to cover the rage on his voice.

**“Are you at the hospital?”** Lulu questioned. **“We can come if you need us.”**

“No, we are home. I, uh, I used my surname.” He simply said; everyone in the family knew of Cross’ previous job so why even bother lying to them.

**“Alright. What about him? Any nightmares?”** Fiidora.

“Not yet, but I’m expecting some.” They went silent for a moment. “Guys?”

**“Yeah?”**

“Would it be alright if… he came live with us at the club while he recovers? I don’t want him to be alone in the house and…”

**“Al, you shouldn't even ask that. Of course you can. He is part of the family now, and we never leave on** e  **of our own behind, now do we?”** Sheryl questioned. 

“Yeah. Thank you guys.” He croaked.

**“Don’t thank us for that, Al.”** Tyki said.  **“You should call Cross and Neah, they were a wreck. Well, Neah was.”**

“Yeah. I’ll call you tomorrow.” And with that he ended the call, dialing his father right after it. “Dad?”

**“Allen.”** He heard him groaning.

“Did I wake you up? I can call later on.” He said, sighing.

**“No, it’s fine. I know you need me, and I’m here for you. The** **_both_ ** **of you.”** He paused for a second.  **“What happened?”**

“Homophobes attacked him.”

**“What? Why? I mean, it’s not like you can tell right away that he’s gay.”** He questioned and Allen could see him frowning.

“His background picture is one of us hugging and they saw it and…” He bowed his head, hiding it between his propped knees. “I-is it my fault?”

**“Allen? Son, what is it?”** He was hearing him hiccup lightly.

“I-I convinced him to put that picture. I have one of him.”

**“Allen, no. No. It’s not your fault. Neither you or Lavi are at fault here, they are.”** He tried to calm him down with a shushing voice.  **“Are you at the hospital? Do you want us to come and stay with you?”**

“We are at his apartment. I went to Dr. Suez… I’m sorry dad! I know you told me to only use it in emergency cases, but he had been panicking and I didn’t want to have to stay there more time than necessary and… I’m sorry!”

**“Did he treat you right?”**

Allen blinked, confused. He hadn’t been expecting a yelling, but at least a reprimand or something. “Ah, y-yeah. He issued a medical leave, too.” He replied. “You are not… angry with me?”

**“Angry? For caring for someone you love? I couldn’t call myself a good parent if I did that. I…** **_am_ ** **a good parent, right?”** He inquired: he knew he had done no good to him at the beginning, but he had tried his best to mend all of his past mistakes when he realised that he had almost lost his son.

“Yeah, you are. I wouldn’t trade you for anyone.” Allen replied. “I talked with the guys and they said it’s fine if Lavi moves in with while he gets better.” He told him.

**“That’s the best you could do. I’ll tell Neah tomorrow morning, ok?”**

“Yeah, thank you dad. I… also told him I love him.” He told him, blushing a bit.

**“About damn time, idiot apprentice. I’m guessing he loves you too.”** Allen hummed in agreement.  **“That’s good. I can see how happy he makes you. He might be the best thing that ever happened to you.”**

“He is. You too. And the guys. But Lavi... he gets me.” He replied. “Talk to you tomorrow? I don’t want him to be alone for too long…”

**“Of course. I love you, call if you need anything.”** They were not ones to say ‘I love you’ too often like Neah was, but right now, he needed to make sure his child knew that.

**“Thank you. I love you, too.”** He made a kiss sound before hanging up and going back to the room, sighing in relief when he realised that Lavi hadn’t woken up. He looked at all the books he had (and holy shit, he had a  _ lot _ of books) and picked one he had been meaning to read for a while now and then settled back into the bed, Lavi curling up to him almost immediately and his hand fell once more into red locks.

* * *

He had been having a relatively good dream, feeling warm and with a nice soothing feeling on his head and shoulders, as if someone was petting him, but suddenly the warmth left him. The dream didn’t suddenly turn terrible and scary, but instead brought old memories back: his father cutting his eyes, the kids at school bullying him, his mother telling him he was no good, them abandoning him at the orphanage, the few months he had to live there, everyone making fun of him and no family ever considering him to adopt because of his looks, his grandparents refusing to take him in… then it fast forwarded to University, where he had been pulled away from Yuu since the Japanese was still in High School. He had felt so alone and everyone was so much bigger than he was. And all of them made fun of him for being a nerd and wearing a patch, but when Yuu finally started University with him it all started to be better, until they moved to London and he started to work at the newspaper: the pranks, the jokes, the mistreatment… It was all there, makes him whine low in his throat when he saw how miserable he always looked in that place, no wonder Yuu always told him to get the fuck out of there. Then in fast forwarded again to tonight.

He saw himself smiling like a fool as he stared at the picture of his phone, wincing slightly when he collided with… them.

_ “Damn. Sorry mate.” _

_ “Don’t apologise to him!” The blond one said. “He’s a fag! Look at that pic!” He pointed at his phone and Lavi snatched it, putting into his pocket and standing up, making a move to leave as quickly as possible. But as soon as he took the first step, one of them grabbed his arm and forced him to go to the dark alley next to them.  _

_ “People like you… such a disgrace. You should be wiped out of this world. You do nothing but stain it with your mere presence.” They threw him to the ground and he all but stared at them, fear gripping his heart. _

_ A painful scream left his mouth when one of them stepped on his hand, his fingers cracking underneath the weight. Almost instantly a kick to his chest made all the air scape his lungs and double over. Then another to his shin, the acute pain ripping through his body and pulling another piercing scream from  his throat. _

_ He felt the ironclad tip of a boot connect with his stomach and then the warm, iron-tasting blood bubbled up his throat and filled his mouth before he choked and spat it on the floor, teeth red. Someone yanked on his hair, ripping it, his head burning from the sharp pain that it came with that action and then a fist connect with his cheek; he could feel almost instantly the swelling. He didn’t have time to recover before another fist – bigger, stronger and faster – went straight to his nose. He cried and retracted, falling with his back to the floor, his head bouncing off the hard concrete under him.  _

_ He could feel the blood pooling in the back of his throat, choking him, not letting the air into his lungs. He moved onto his side and spat it all out, creating  a pool besides him, only to find himself face down in the wet fluid when one kicked him in his lower back, feeling as if a hundred needles pierced his kidneys. _

_ The kicks kept going, but he couldn’t tell the difference from one injury to the next. He was in so much pain that he couldn’t feel anything else. Or so he thought until one of them stepped on his wrist and grinded his boot until it snapped and he felt his bones crack under the weight and the strong pain clearly meant that it had been broken.  _

_ He could not move it, trying to pry it free brought more tears into his eyes. Tears. He had not realised he had been crying. A final kick on his lower back had him arching on the floor, his bruised face, scratched with the pavement under him. _

_ “Let’s go boys, he’s nothing but a slut.” _

_ He waited until they were done to even dare to move, his whole bxody crying in pain, his joints feeling like they were filled only with hollow space  and his muscles pulling. With his ‘good’ arm he reached to his back and pulled his hood up and then he crawled to the wall, using it to stand up, a small shriek escaping his lips when his wrist muscles pulled. His legs were quivering and he could barely sustain his weight on his knees, but as steady as he could, he made it back to the main road and waited until a taxi came up and stopped it, giving him the address of his house. _

His eyes snapped open. He was gasping for air, his eyes moving frantically all over the room, trying to guess where he was.

“Lavi? Lavi!” He looked to his side and saw Allen reaching for him and cupping his face. “Babe, calm down. I’m here, nothing is going to happen to you.” 

He stared at him before hugging him and letting the tears roam free. He clinged to him, his fists grabbing the fabric of his pants and Allen slowly helped him sit on his lap, rocking both of them once more, kissing his neck.

“Oh love…” He mumbled. “I’m here, nothing is going to happen, I swear. I’ll never let anyone else touch a single hair of you, I promise.” 

Lavi didn’t reply, he just kept crying in his bare shoulder and clinging to him, hearing his lover talk and reassuring himself that this wasn’t a dream, that Allen was really there by his side. After a few minutes he stopped crying, but still couldn’t let go of him.

“Why don’t we lie down again, hm?” The albino whispered and he nodded, letting him do so he could lie again and as soon as the DJ lay down, he threw his casted arm around him, drawing the albino as close as physically possible making him grunt at the weight of the cast hitting him on the side.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

“It’s fine, I’ve taken worse hits at the gym.” He told him, running his hand through his hair. They stayed silent for a while, Lavi mastering his breathing back to normal. “Nightmare?”

“Yeah.” He nodded and Allen kissed his head. “Did I wake you up?”

“No babe, I wasn’t sleeping.” He told him, retrieving the book from his side. “I was reading. I hope you don’t mind I took one of your books without your permission.”

Lavi scoffed, frowning slightly at him. “How could I even care about it when you just rushed to me as soon as you knew I was hurt?” He questioned. “Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s still early, it’s just 5am. Did… did the nightmare come when I left?”

“I think so… Where did you go? Bathroom?” His eyes were starting to close again.

“Ah, no. I… I called home and dad and I went to the living room. Didn’t want to wake you up. Doesn’t seem like it made much of a difference.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” He moved and kissed him. “Could you… sing to me?” He begged. He felt silly for asking such a childish demand, but Allen’s singing voice was just soft and warm. And that was exactly what he needed.

“Of course. Same song?”

“Please.” He closed his eyes and cuddled closer, listening to his heartbeat. And then his voice filled his ears, lulling him to sleep. “Love you…” 

Allen didn’t break the song, but he did press his moving lips against his forehead.

He didn’t hear the end of the song.

* * *

Lavi blinked at the light filling the room, groaning and pressing his face to Allen’s thigh. “‘Morning.” Allen chuckled tiredly.

Lavi looked and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Morning babe.” He moved to kiss him and it was then when he noticed just how tired he looked. “Kitten?”

“Yeah?” It was getting harder and harder to not fall asleep, to force his eyes to stay open and focus on the book, the letters getting blurrier at each hour that went by.

“Have you had any sleep at all?” The albino shrugged, closing the book and stacking it with the other two. 

“Didn’t want to be sleeping in case you had another nightmare.” He mumbled.

“Oh babe…” He was deeply touched, for Allen to push himself to the point he could barely keep his eyes open for his sake… That man would always surprise him for the better. “I’m awake now, ok? I’ll go take a shower and you sleep.”

“Won’t you need help?” He rubbed his eyes yawned, sitting up straight and making a move to get out of bed.

“Sweetheart, I’ve had a cast on before, I’ll manage.” He kissed him on the lips and forced him to lie down. “Sleep, ok? You need it.” the DJ nodded before he burrowed under the covers and curled into a ball. “Thank you, again.” He pressed his split lip on his temple. “I’ll wake you up so that you can have breakfast, ok?” Allen hummed in agreement and purred when he stroked his hair. “Night love.”

“Night.” 

And he was out like a light. Lavi sighed and lay down next to him, brushing his hair as he knew Allen had done to him through the night. 

And as he stroked his hair, the memory of what happened the night before before Allen arrived, started replaying in his mind; he had been so scared when he finally got home, the way Kanda reacted pulling him and forcing him down to sit. Kanda had hugged him, trying to shush him down to no avail. He had never expected Kanda to hug him for such an extended period of time, his voice so soft and free of it’s usual cutting edge. When he realised he was getting nowhere, he called Lenalee, explaining what he was seeing because he didn’t know anything else. She arrived together with Nalei and then called Allen.

“Morning Yuu.” He greeted, kissing his cheek. “Thank you.”

The Japanese nodded. “You ok?”

“Yeah. Had a nightmare.” He explained as he pulled out a bowl and a box of cereals before sitting down next to him.

They ate in silence, until Kanda seemed to realise something. “For how much longer is the moyashi going to sleep? It’s almost 12pm.”

“Let him be, Yuu. He stayed awake the whole night… for me.” He explained in a whisper, setting his spoon down. “To make sure I didn’t have any nightmares and that if I did, he wasn’t sleeping.” 

Kanda nodded: he could at least acknowledge the moyashi as someone with standards and morals. He would have done the same for Alma.

“What are you going to do today?” The Japanese questioned as he helped him pour some orange juice.

“Lie down again. Thanks. Everything hurts.” He didn’t add the fact that he wanted to be close to Allen.

“Alright. I’ll be here until lunch time, I’m meeting Alma and his father.” He scowled and Lavi smirked, remembering that Yuu had told him so a few weeks ago.

“Meeting the in-law, huh? Just don’t be too rude and you’ll be fine.” The reporter rested his good hand in his shoulder and squeezed.

“How did you meet his’?”

“Cross was by accident. They were in the studio talking when I opened the door. Neah, the same day. We were by the bar with Lulu when he arrived and we went to sit together. And then I met Cross again for breakfast when we were properly dating… They usually go to have breakfast at the club every Sunday, so I’ve been seeing them a lot. Plus all his siblings, of course. I swear, I have no idea how Neah took care of all of them.” Kanda hummed as he washed the dishes. “I… I should tell Panda, shouldn’t I?”

At that, Kanda dropped the mug. “You haven’t told him yet? Lavi!” He spun him around and grabbed him by his shoulders, lightly, to not hurt him more. “I may not like the moyashi, but you need to tell Bookman. From the point where you started to go twice a month at least, it’s been already 6 months! Why haven’t you told him?”

“I don’t know. Feels sort of cold to tell him that I’m going out with someone over the phone.”

“You had no trouble to do so before.” Kanda pointed out, leaning against the counter.

Lavi shrugged as much as he could. “I know. But… I never really considered them someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.” He mumbled. “I… I really want to, Yuu, with him.”

“Have you at least told him you love him? Or are you still waiting for something?”

Lavi blushed and looked down, pushing his hair behind his ear. “When we came back of the hospital I… uh… He asked if they had raped me and, I don’t know what went through my head, but I asked if he’d have left me if they had.” At that Kanda turned around to gape at him, not believing his ears. “I know, I was being an ass. I knew he wouldn’t, he’s not shallow at all and yet… I  _ needed _ to know where we really stood with each other. He then told me he loved me. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe he had just said it.”

“Why? You are fucking head over heels for him.”

“Well, yes. But I didn’t know he was with  _ me _ .” Kanda rolled his eyes; it was so fucking obvious that the moyashi would do anything for him. “It took me so long to snap out of it that he had thought I didn’t love him back. He said it was alright, that he would still stay by my side if I wanted him to.” He sighed. 

“But you told him, right?”

“Of course I did!” He snapped, glaring at him. “How could I not? He looked so heartbroken, he was almost crying. You and Alma… How was it?”

“Have you met Alma?” Kanda replied, scoffing. “He just told me out of the blue in the middle of a conversation about mayonnaise. He literally said ‘Meh, I love you too much to even consider being angry with your for not liking it.’ Just like that. And then he continued ranting about this and that.”

Because of course Alma would have done it like that.

“Anyway, I’m going to get changed. You should shower, need help?” He asked.

“Nah, don’t worry. Remember 3rd grade?” He had broken his arm after he decided that jumping from a tree would be a good idea.

“Well, shout out if you need it.”

“M’kay.” He kissed his cheek and went to the bathroom.

He did have some trouble getting the bag on, but nothing he couldn’t solve by himself. He showered and half dried his hair with a towel before going back to his room, smiling lovingly at the sleeping form on his bed. He looked exhausted, dark circles showing under his eyes, because he had pushed his hour to go to bed to 4-5 hours later, his untied hair was messy and he was clutching the sheets. He had noticed before that he didn’t like to be uncovered and he usually had to fight him for the covers. He lay down next to him and kissed his forehead, wrapping his bad arm around him and nuzzling his snowy locks. 

He then pushed him a bit to the side so he could rest against the headboard before grabbing one of the books Allen had, apparently read, during the night. The Catcher in the Rye. One of his favourites books. He opened and started to re-read it, looking for his favourite parts.

Allen was a very busy sleeper, always turning and talking. The first times he hadn’t realise that, but after months of sleeping together, he would wake up at night because Allen was just thrashing around or sleep-talking. Or both. And it’s not that he was having a nightmare or anything, he just seemed to never find the perfect position. But some times, if he was really tired like at that moment, he would just mumble unintelligible things and squirm occasionally.

Lavi smiled when Allen moved closer and put his forehead against his thigh and played with the end of his hair. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me, love.” Allen just mumbled in reply.

* * *

“Babe, wake up.” He grumbled before burrowing more into the covers, hearing the distant voice chuckle. “Seriously kitten, it’s past 4pm and you need to eat something before you leave.”

“We.” He said, turning around and looking up at his boyfriend.

“What?”

“You didn’t really think I’d let you stay here alone while you are on leave, right?” He sat up, his hair tangled and sticking in every single direction possible. Lavi blinked like an owl. “What?”

“I didn’t really remember I was on medical leave.” He explained and Allen sighed before cuddling closer. “So we are moving to the club?”

“You are ok with it?”

“Of course. I spend half my nights there already.” He smiled and kissed his hair. “You should take a shower sweetheart.”

“Okay…” He got out of bed and went into the bathroom, Lavi following him with a towel.

Allen showered quickly and Lavi put some bacon in a pan and bread in the toaster. After that, the DJ made Lavi’s go-bag with some clothes (he had left some behind at the club) and then they left after Lavi texted Kanda explaining him everything.

“We’re here....” Allen drawled as he opened the door, only his sisters, Tyki and Maashima being there. They all rushed to their side, hugging Lavi as tight as they could without further injuring him. All but Tyki, that went and embraced Allen first, rubbing his back. “Tyki…”

“I know, I know. We can talk later on, ok?” The albino nodded before he let the elder go so he could hug Lavi too.

“Where’s everyone?” Allen questioned as he set the bag down on the table and dropping on a chair.

“We closed earlier yesterday, so only us stayed here. Tricia wasn’t feeling very good either so…” Road shrugged a sat down on the armchair. “Didn’t he call you?”

“Cell’s dead.” The Englishmen said as he sat down next to Lavi, who quickly cuddled up to him. “I call him later.”

“It’s Neah, Al, if I were you I’d call him now.” Maitora said as she gave him her mobile. He unlocked it and called his uncle.

**“Mai?”**

“Allen.”

**“Oh, Jesus Christ! Couldn’t you have answered your phone? Do you know how worried I was? I thought you had gone after them or something, because knowing you that’s what you probably…”**

“My phone died, uncle. And I didn’t take my charger with me. I’m sorry but I….”

**“Don’t you ‘but I’ me, young man!”** The musician yelled in his ear and Lavi only chuckled before taking the phone from his boyfriend.

“Neah?” He said, swiftly interrupting his rant.

**“Oh Lavi, dear, that wasn’t for you…”** He sounded so concerned for him that his heart probably skipped a beat: when was the last time an adult had sounded so concerned about him?

“I know, but he stayed up all night until 10 this morning to watch over me and then he fell asleep until late 4pm… It’s my fault that he didn’t call you. Don’t be mad at him, please.”

**“I’m… not mad. Just worried. Cross told me you’d be staying with us?”**

“If it’s ok, that is.”

**“Lavi, dear, you’ll always be welcomed with us.”** Neah told him and Lavi couldn’t help but smile.  **“Where… where did it happen?”**

Lavi blinked, surprised. Neah was the first one to ask him that. “A couple of blocks downstreet from Pimlico Station.” He felt Allen tense and growl low on his throat behind him. 

**“Hm…”** He didn’t say anything else.  **“Can you put Allen back please?”**

“Of course.” He said and gave it back to his boyfriend. 

**“You heard?”** Allen hummed in reply.  **“Your father says that if you are to do something, to do it following the three rules. Whatever that means.”**

“Okay.”

**“And Allen? I’m proud of you.”**

“Pardon me?”

**“You left your place at the club to rush to his side. I would have been really mad if you had stayed.”**

“Oh. Okay. Thank you uncle.” He wasn’t used to being complimented that way, but it was always nice.

**“Alright. I’ll drop by tomorrow to talk with about a new piece, ok?”**

“Yeah, of course. Bye uncle.”

**“Goodbye dear.”**

He hung up and gave the phone back to the engineer who took it silently. No one asked about what they talked about nor asked Lavi anything else and he was grateful for that. He moved a bit closer and groaned in pain, alerting Allen.

“Need a pill babe?” He questioned.

“Maybe later.” He replied and the albino nodded, although he didn’t look convinced at all. Lavi smiled and kissed his cheek and then the hand dangling from his shoulder.

They all stayed there, watching TV until 8pm, when Road and Lulu disappeared into the kitchen to make dinner. It was a few minutes later that everyone started to arrive and all of them had the exact same reaction: open the door, spot Lavi, freeze in place for a couple of seconds and then rush to him, hugging and worrying over him.

It felt good. To know that he had so many people concerned about his well-being was a nice feeling to have.

“Dinner is ready guys!” Road said and they all went to the table, sitting at their places.

Fried pork and salad. Salad he had no problem with, now the pork… He sighed. He didn’t want to ask Allen (or anyone) for help, that would have been embarrassing but it was either that or not eating. He looked up when mismatch hand took his plate away.

“Kitten?” 

“What? You ain’t eating with your hands, bunny.” He smirked before he started to cut the meat in bite-size portions. “There you go.”

“Thanks babe.” He leaned and kissed his cheek.

“You could have just asked.” Lavi rolled his eye.

The rest of the table was just as cheery and bubbly as usual, all of them noticing that Lavi wasn’t as bad as they all thought he’d be. At least by now.

Lunch went by flying and then they moved to the sofas, as usual. They watched TV and then decided to play cards, excluding Allen and Tyki, who were having their own game of poker, and after what seemed ten minutes the alarm beeped and everyone stood up.

“Alright boys, it’s work time.” Toraido said, stretching. “Let’s bring this home.”

With that, everyone disappeared to make sure everything was in perfect place at the club, Tyki and the twins going to the VIP area, Sheryl, Fiidora and Wisely disappearing inside, Skinn and Maashima going outside to greet their clients for the night, Lulu and Road headed for the bar, Toraido went along with them, Maitora was the only one who didn’t move, since she only had to go out if needed, and Allen and Lavi made their way to the studio.

Lavi sat down at the sofa, and watched him work. It always fascinated him how easily he moved around the cramped space. He was mumbling to himself, something about a wire he couldn’t find (which was no wonder, really) and kicking something out of the way. When he finally founded he sat down and connected it.

“Are you going to be alright?” He asked him.

“It’s not my first time here, kitten.” He stood up and kissed his head. “Though I may fall asleep at the end.”

“Don’t worry about that.” He replied, shaking his head. “If you feel sleepy you can always go to bed.”

“Thank you babe.” He sat down at the armrest. “I love you so fucking much.” He said, looking at him. 

And Allen beamed.  _ Beamed _ . He had never seen such a bright smile in his face. “Right back at you. Oh, I brought your pills in case you needed them. Says you can’t drink any alcohol.”

“Ugh. That sucks.” He groaned and Allen chuckled, flicking his nose. 

Lavi kissed him on the lips and grinned when he pulled a moan out of him and then went back to the sofa, pulling a book from the small table besides it (drawers that Allen had put there especially for him so he could keep his stuff).

It was around 3am that Lavi stood up and went to him. “Want a drink?” He asked, massaging his nape with his good hand.

“That’d be lovely.” He kissed his arm. “You alright?”

“I’ll take a pill before going to bed, I took one in breakfast, by the way, forgot to tell you.”

“It’s fine.” He kissed his biceps. 

“Be right back.” He dropped another kiss in his head and then went to the bar, trying to avoid bumping into anyone. “Road.” He said as soon as he got there and she quickly pointed a free booth for him to sit.

“How are you feeling?” She questioned.

“I’m fine.” He told her, smiling. “It looks much worse than it is, I swear.” And it was true: he was mostly only bruised up and he had always healed a bit faster than most people. It was the nightmare he was afraid off. He just hoped that if Allen stayed with him the whole time he’d be alright.

“Alright.” She didn’t look completely convinced, but didn’t press the issue. “The usual?”

“For him. I can’t drink alcohol. Give me a glass of water. Or a bottle.” He said and she nodded, filling Allen’s glass. “How’s the night going?”

“Not too bad.” She replied cheerily pushing the glass filled with scotch and a bottle of water to him. “Tricia called and said she’d be coming tomorrow morning.”

“Is she feeling alright?”

“Yeah, she caught a cold and had a slight fever yesterday. I’ll see you later.” She explained before turning around.

He took the beverages and went back upstairs. “There you go.” He gave him his glass and sat down once again on the armrest.

“Thank you darling.” He kissed his head and then went to get a pill, sitting back next to him. They talked and laughed, as usual, and when it was around 5am Allen put his pre-programmed music and then they went to the sofa. And as soon as Lavi sat down, the albino was tugging him to kiss him. Lavi made a surprised noise, but responded in kind, his tongue slipping into Allen’s mouth and a hand fisting his loose hair. After a few minutes Allen was panting hard when they split up.

“What has gotten into you all of a sudden?” Lavi questioned, arching an eyebrow. He licked his lower lip as it was bleeding a little.

“I… needed it.” Allen replied before he started to kiss his neck, making Lavi moan softly. “Yesterday… I was so afraid I couldn’t even think to kiss you, just thinking that I’d hurt you or something…”

“Aw babe…” He cooed and kissed smooched his lips. “You are the best boyfriend one could ever hope for.” Allen smiled and cuddled up to him, sighing


	10. Chapter 10

Two weeks had gone by and Lavi had adjusted to his new night-life style really quickly, so much that he didn’t even find it strange to have breakfast at 3pm or lunch at 9pm. They had stayed at the club for those two weeks, but today Alma had suggested to go have dinner the seven of them al together and instead of going back to the club as they had done that first time, they went to Allen’s house.

They were not sleepy by any means, as it was only 2am, so they had decided to watch Dr. Who. Lavi was wrapped around his boyfriend, his casted arm around his waist and his chin on top of Allen’s head. He realised that Allen was muttering the dialogs under his breath and that made him a thousand times cuter in Lavi’s eyes. Hotter, too.

He kept quiet, listening to him and the TV, but he grew squirmish, hearing Allen talk… Damn. 

“You know? There’s something about you that bothers me a lot.” He casually said and Allen looked at him, frowning.

“What is it?” He turned around, silencing the TV: what could he have done as of late that could bother him? Was he mothering him too much?

“Your accent.”

“What?” He didn’t understand: why would his accent bother him?

“The only times I can recall hearing you talk with a deep Brit accent is while we are having sex. And right now as we watch Dr. Who.” He told him. “Care to explain what up with that?”

“Oh.” Okay, that was definitely not what he had been expecting. “It’s just that, hum… People used to make fun of me because of it. I have a very street, rude way of speaking so after Mana passed, I... tried to you know, get rid of the accent, the bad words and everything…”

“It’s a shame, really, because I fucking love it.” He said. “Makes me hot and horny when I hear you talk that way.”

“Really?” He looked up, surprised and slightly baffled.

“Yes, goddamn yes.” He drawled as he tugged him to kiss the breath out of him. “I mean…” He grabbed his hand and brought it to his half-hard cock. “And that’s from only hearing you mutter along with number 10 here.”

“11.” Allen corrected as he started to palm him through his sweatpants. “So ye like to hea’r me talk like tha’t babe?” He drawled and Lavi groaned. “I’ll take tha’t as yes.” He kept stroking him over the clothes when an idea popped into his head. “Ye know wha’t da’rling, I’m going to make ye come in ye’r trouse’rs.”

“Fuck.” Lavi moaned before kissing him, his hips undulating. 

“Late’r on.” He said and started to kiss his neck, now cleared of any bruises, just like any other part of his body. “Lie fla’t.” He told him and the redhead obeyed gingerly and Allen started to work on removing his shirt over his head, always minding the cast. “I’m going to trea’t ye so right, love.” he mumbled before licking his nipple.

“Fuck…” He was making him go crazy with just that thick accent lacing his voice. 

Allen smirked and started to trail kisses along his body, his hand never stopping groping him. He lowered his head and kissed the shape of it through he tenting pants, nipping softly, hearing Lavi groan above him. He then bit down a bit harder, hard enough to make the ginger snap his hips up. It was then an idea popped in the musician’s head. Allen smirked at him and sat down on Lavi’s crotch before he started to grind his own hips down, moaning low on his throat.

“Like tha’t?” The Englishman drawled, his hands resting on his lover’s sides. Allen’s movements were slow and sinuous. He had a slight advantage there: he was barely hard whereas Lavi was like a rock already.

“Shirt. Off.” The ginger tugged at it and Allen obeyed, throwing it somewhere. Lavi went to grab his hip with his good hand, but Allen pinned it down over his head. “Allen…” He whimpered.

“No babe, my trea’t today.” He kissed him thoroughly as he picked his pace up.

Lavi was in bliss: the pressure in his groin was just so fine and Allen was rubbing him so good and in all the right places, his white hand dancing on his chest and playing with his nipples. 

“Oh fuck…” His eyes rolled at the back of his head, his hips mimicking the movements Allen was doing. “Babe, I’m not… going to last.” He said,  gripping the fabric of the sofa.

“Well then, why don’t ye come?” He whispered in his ear. “Ye can le’t go if that’s wha’t ye want.” he ground his hips harder, nibbling his earlobe. “C’mon love, ye know ye want to…” 

His pinched his nipple and started to move even faster, groaning under his breath. 

And Lavi was just gone, trying to reach the climax and cum, hearing Allen’s voice so deep and with such a strong accent that it was positively driving him mad. And suddenly Allen shuffled a bit higher up his body and the ginger felt the head of his cock press harder against his pelvis and his lover’s ass.

“Ngh!” He came, his body shaking with the force of it and his hand shooting up and wrapping around Allen’s neck, bringing him down to him. He kept thrusting his hips as he rode the wave down, breathing heavily. “Oh Lord…”

Allen chuckled next to him, kissing his neck lovingly. “Fel’t tha’t good, huh?”

“Mh-hm…” He was resting his arms on the lithe back. “Never thought it could be this good…” He said, his body going lax. At that the DJ arched and eyebrow and looked at him. “What?”

“Neve’r though’t tha’t someone like you wouldn’t have tried this before. I mean, this is pre’tty mild fo’r wha’t we usually do.” He replied, his accent slowly fading, much to the reporters dismay.

“I just never really thought about it. Besides, you are the only one who has ever indulged me in my many kinks.” He told him. “The only kink anyone else ever agreed to was tying me to the bed.” He confessed. And Allen’s expression went dark with lust and desire in a split second, because the thought of a helpless, tied and gagged Lavi was something that had crossed his mind so many times and that he had never voiced.

“Would you like that, kitten? Having me completely for yourself to use and play with? Because I know that’s something I’d like to have, you tied and begging for more, unable to move… Just think about it love, would you like to have me like that?” He had sat up now, whispering into his ear. “You could make me cum as many times as you liked, leave me tied down with a dildo up my ass while you go to work…” 

Allen was shivering in pleasure by now. “Can you imagine it? I know you can. I’d be sweaty and covered in cum, waiting for you to come and fuck me, and I would cry out for your cock, because nothing has ever felt better inside me than you have. And I’d be slick and open for you, so you could come in and just fuck me, without having to worry about prepping me up or foreplay.” He had sneaked his good hand inside of his lover’s pants. “And I would be dry already but I would still come… And you could fuck my mouth if you’d want to, you know how much I love to suck you.” The musician had his eyes clouded with lust by now, groaning in pleasure as Lavi stroked him and muttered into his ear, the images filling his mind, making him go mad with need. “You could also edge me with a hand job, make be beg for release and punishing me if I came without your permission.”

“Lavi…” He moaned, dropping his head onto his shoulder.

“Yeah, that’s it. Do you know what I would do to you, if you were the one tied down? I’d tie your hands and legs to the bed, I wouldn’t gag you though, I love the way you beg and moan for more, so wantonly.” He drawled. “And I’d fuck you with a dildo, making you grow hard and desperate and then I’d switch it for a vibrator and I would put it in the lowest setting and watch you go mad with need. And then, just when you are begging me for more I’d untie you and blow you until you came. But I wouldn’t take the vibrator out. Oh no.” Allen was whimpering, his eyes clouded with need of something he had never known he’d needed: to be manhandled like that, to be dominated like that… He had never  _ truly _ wanted that, until now. Maybe all he had needed was someone who understood him and would never take more than he could give, just the same way he would never take more than what Lavi chose to give him. 

“What… what would you do then?” He questioned, his hips moving against Lavi’s hand.

The redhead didn’t reply, he stayed silent for a couple of minutes, his hand never stopping working on his lover. “If you agreed... “ He started a bit unsure, as if he wasn’t sure of how he’d take the idea. “I’d like to take you out. You know, dressed and everything, not going to  _ ever _ take you naked outside.” He pointed out and the albino nodded, already knowing that Lavi would never do something like that to him. “But with the vibrator in you and I don’t know, we could go do the groceries, or watch TV with your siblings, have dinner with the guys…” He moaned when Allen kissed him hungrily, biting his lips and digging his nails on his shoulder. “You’d like that?” He smiled and kissed his neck: he had suspected that Allen would not be opposed to this sort of things, but he had never really dared to ask. He knew he’d do it too in a split second if Allen ever asked. There was just something on giving himself up to Allen that made him shiver inside. 

And it was not only lust. 

There was… a need of some kind that demanded him to give Allen everything he had. And to take everything Allen offered him. It felt raw and primal and it scared him sometimes how possessive he felt over Allen, as he had never felt it before with any of his past boyfriends. But then Allen would act the same way, protective and possessive he would realise that it went both ways and would fall even deeper in love with him. Like that time a girl had gone and kissed him at the club and Allen just yanked him away and pretty much raped his mouth. Or that other time that creep was just hitting on the albino even if he had told the man he wasn’t interested and he just went and hugged him from behind muttering a ‘Hey kitten, cheating on me already?’ loud enough for the creep to hear. Needless to say, the man just walked away with the tail between his legs.

Yeah, those were the moments in which he would feel possessiveness creeping up his body.

Allen groaned and kissed him again, pressing him down so he’d be lying again and he made quick work of his soaked trousers and underwear: he needed to have him. Now. 

“I’m going to fuck ye so good.” And the accent was back. Thank God for it.

“Please.” He was rock hard again, all his talking making him see and want things to he had never really given a second thought. And it was just easy for them to go from submissive to dominant, something that definitely made their sex life never boring.

Allen smirked and kissed him. “And I’m going to take you up on those offe’rs babe.” 

“I hoped you would.” He arched when Allen scraped his nail around his nipple, like he had done months ago.

“Mh-hm. Want to know what I’d like to do, too? Both of us, with plugs inside us one Satu’rday as I work in the club and the first one to ask for sex loses.” He mumbled against his thigh.

“Shit. Where’s the catch?”

“Lose’r… I don’t know, has to do wha’tever the winne’r wants fo’r a perio’td of 24hours?” Allen suggested, moving further up to his cock.

“Sounds fine to me.” The reporter replied before snapping his hips. “Now start fingering me.”

“Hm… Right now, I want to ea’t you ou’t.” He replied and make him turn around. “You’r a’rm?” He questioned, peppering kisses on his cheeks.

“It’s fine…” He replied. “Fuck…” Allen had started licking his rim, and he had totally forgotten just how skillful Allen really was with his tongue. He felt himself clench around it, moaning low on his throat, his head resting against the cushions. He wasn’t used to this, he had never been a fan of rimming others so he never asked anyone to do it. Yet the first time Allen had taken him to the shower and fingered him with soap and cleaned him up he found himself trembling in anticipation. He came in the shower as Allen fingered him and told him what he was going to do with his tongue.

It had been amazing. He had felt closer to him than ever before, as lame as it sounded. And it became even more meaningful when Allen told him that he had never even considered doing it to anyone else. Then again, Lavi was the first person he had sex with without condoms except for that first time. 

“Ngh.... Babe!” He moaned when Allen cupped his balls and squeezed them.

Allen didn’t say anything, he kept licking him, making sure his lover was enjoying himself to the fullest. Because that was what Cross told him: to always put one’s personal pleasure behind their partner’s, because there was nothing more satisfying than seeing your partner thoroughly fucked and breathing hard and unable to take more. And yet, since he had gotten together with Lavi, sometimes he was greedy, wanting more of Lavi. Especially his moaning, it was just  _ hot _ to hear him moan and beg for release. Or groan if he was in a dominant mood. And Lavi had always been different for him: he had done things with Lavi that he wouldn’t have done with anyone else: starting by having sex with no protection and inviting him to his room to sleep and then have sex in there. Showing him what he was most repulsed and frightened of and now having him over his house. Lavi was different than anyone else who had entered his life like him, and the ginger had also made  _ him _ different: more caring, more stable.

“F-fuck babe!” Lavi groaned as he wiggled his ass away from Allen. Much to his own dismay. “Need you…” He breathed out, glancing at him over his shoulder.

“Of course.” He kissed the lower part of his back before standing up. “I’ll go get the lube, alright?”

“Hurry…” He turned around, resting once more on his back and trying to calm his ragged breathes.

Allen was back in less than five minutes and he smiled when he saw him sprawled on the chaise longue part of the sofa. “Hey babe. I washed my mouth.” He kneeled between his legs and kissed him, and his mouth had a fresh minty flavour. 

Lavi smiled into the kiss when Allen tickled his side. He had realised after a few times in, that Allen would sometimes just do non-sexual gestures while they were having sex. It was, somehow, adorable and sweet. “I love you.” The reporter mumbled after they split up.

“I love you too.” He smiled before sitting on his knees he lubed his fingers and warmed up the liquid before pressing one inside his boyfriend.

Lavi closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of having Allen opening him after a little over a month of no sex. And that was a long time for them. Probably the longest. And sure, romantic relationships weren’t supposed to be only based on sex but it was such a damn important part of what they were and how they had started that it was unthinkable for him to go over two months without sex with Allen.

“More!” He moaned when Allen pushed the second finger in, arching his back a bit.

“Be patient.” The albino kissed his inner thigh before licking it in a long stroke. 

“Can’t. It’s been far too long.” He whined, moving his hips to try and make the fingers go in deeper and Allen just chuckled before crooking them, making him gasp. “Fuck. Don’t tease.”

“Sorry.” The albino said before pushing another finger in and making a scissoring motion. He looked at his boyfriend: he was sprawled on the sofa, his red hair splayed on the dark cushion, his face slightly red and flushed and his eyes… His eyes were just dazed with lust and love. So much love was held in them.

“Kitten. Please.” He begged and the albino nodded before taking his trousers off and kneeling between his thighs.

“I know, I know.” He gently pressed inside, moaning down on his throat and clutching his eyes shut. He heard Lavi moan in the distance and felt him shiver in delight. He opened his eyes and dived to kiss him, his tongue making slow movements. “Can I move?” He questioned him.

“You better.” Lavi replied, locking legs around him and kissing him again, harder.

Allen put both of his hands on either side of his boyfriend before he started to move. He set a slow pace, wanting to enjoy it as much as possible and he  _ needed _ to be different than usual. He wanted it to be romantic, he wanted Lavi to enjoy it as much as he could. He wanted… He wanted Lavi to know that no matter what happened, he would always  _ desire _ him. That there wasn’t a part of him that he thought was disgusting.

“I… love ye so much.” He said out of the blue and Lavi looked at him, slightly surprised before smiling.

“I love you too. God!” He arched off the sofa when Allen hit directly his prostate. His breath hitched when he saw Allen above him: he had his eyes closed, his head thrown back, his white hair messy and falling on his shoulders, the tip of one strand just brushing his nipple, the muscles on his arms and abs were flexing at each movement. He was beautiful. Breathtakingly so.

He wrapped his good arm around his neck and brought him down, kissing him with as much passion as he could muster without turning the kiss aggressive. And Allen replied in kind, and never faltering in his movements. And even when they split up, Lavi kept him there, his arm still around his neck, their breaths mingling in a way he had often thought disgusting before.

“Faster.” He moaned.

“Ye su’re?” Allen groaned, his hips still maintaining a slow rhythm. “Don’t want to hu’rt ye.”

“I’m f-fine!” He grabbed him by the hair and the musician shivered at the look of sheer dominance in them. “Allen. Faster.”

Allen nodded and started to pick up speed, missing the slightly crooked smile on his lover’s face: maybe it was mean of him to play that card, but Allen was a cheater himself so whatever. Besides, was it really his fault that Allen loved to have his hair pulled and be dominated? No, right? And Allen had used this same trick on him on different occasions. Both in and out of the bed. “N-no’t going to last.” Allen mumbled.

“It’s okay… Cum inside me, yeah?” He replied as he arched a bit. His cock was trapped between their stomachs and the pressure was just  _ right _ .

The albino was groaning low on his throat, obviously trying to hold himself. Lavi made a distressed sound when Allen pulled up, the friction on his cock disappearing.

“Oh shit!” Allen had wrapped one of his hands around him and started stroking in time with his thrusts. “Allen!” He moaned as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his whole body shaking in pleasure and thick spurts hitting his stomach. “F-fuuuuck…” Allen kept moving, just as he knew the redhead liked it. Lavi smiled and kissed him again, moving his hips too. “C’mon babe… Just let it go. I want to feel you come in me…” He whispered in his ear, hearing the albino whimper in pleasure. “C’mon kitten…” He remembered the day Allen had told him about how he liked to be told to come but not as if it were an order, but when it was said a coddling and sweet manner. Such a strange and kinky creature he was, and Lavi loved him for that. “I want you to fill me up.” He whispered again, his fingers rubbing on Allen’s back. “C’mon love…”

“La-Lavi!” Allen shuddered and moaned quietly as he emptied himself in his boyfriend, who was just panting in pleasure beneath him.

Lavi watched him orgasm and, as usual, it was perfection: how he moaned his name, the shudders ripping through his body, his silver eyes closed… He wrapped his good arm around his back and brought him down, hugging him. Allen was still breathing hard and his mind was a fuss, but he rested his head on his lover’s shoulder and kissed his neck.

“That was amazing sweetheart.” Lavi told him, nuzzling his hair. The albino only mumbled in agreement before he pushed himself up to pull out of his boyfriend. “Shower?”

“Later.” He replied as he moved to the side and curled up around him, resting his head on his chest.

Lavi said nothing at this unusual behaviour of his lover, Allen was not one to hug others as he prefered to  _ be _ hugged. But it was a nice change for once. And he knew there was something going through that pretty head, but if Allen wanted to tell him, he would, so he settled on stroking his hair and untangling the little knots.

A million thoughts were running through his mind, and all of them had Lavi all bruised up and shaking in panic in common. He didn’t know what triggered this sort of thoughts after two weeks of the incident, but the idea of that he could have lost Lavi in an alley, was too hurtful to bear in mind. The idea of not being able to make love to him, to hold him, to be held by him, to have a life together was killing him inside. He felt his eyes tear up, but he refused to shed them, not in front of Lavi, it was not fair to him, not when Allen was his pillar now.

He didn’t know the details of the beating, Lavi didn’t tell, he didn’t ask. He knew what he needed to know: the place, the time and how many people had been responsible for the attack. And they were going to pay. Dearly. Maybe not with their lives, he didn’t need to be thrown into prison at age 22, but he’d make sure they’d remember his face and have as many nightmares as his boyfriend was having. Because the ginger still woke up some nights drenched in cold sweat and reaching for him, crying and asking for comfort. And it made his blood boil in rage every single time. Because Lavi didn’t deserve this. He was one of the gentlest and kind-hearted people he had ever known. He didn’t know how to fight, he was against violence unless it was in a sport like Martial Arts, Kendo or something similar.

He looked up and saw the loving gaze Lavi was watching him with and he couldn’t help but smile and kiss him on the lips. “You alright now, love?” The redhead questioned sweetly.

“Y-yeah…” He sat up and smiled shyly. “Sorry about that.”

“Do you hear me complaining?” Lavi asked, kissing his cheek. “Let’s go to the shower, yeah? I’m starting to feel sleepy.” The American stood up and grabbed his hand, kissing it lightly.

Allen bit his lower lip and stood up too, leading him to the upstairs bathroom. Lavi followed wordlessly, just admiring the house for the first time.

“Just how much does Neah pay you, kitten?” He questioned, awed.

“About 3000. Don’t really know. Why?” They had reached their destination, so Allen had let go of his hand in favour of turning the water on and getting to the right temperature.

“No, nothing.” He shouldn’t be able to pay a rent in that area with his salary for a whole house, but then again, he was barely there, so he didn’t have much things to spend his money on. He felt slightly jealous of him, but not in a bad way, he could never wish for something bad to happen to his boyfriend. “Can you help me with the cast?” He asked, batting his eyelashes in a, supposedly, seductive way.

Allen snorted before nodding and grabbing one of the bags and taping it around his arm. They showered quickly, dried their hair and snuck under the covers and Lavi spooned his lover from behind, kissing his still slightly wet white locks.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” The ginger asked.

“I have MMA practice at the gym at 12.” Allen replied. “Wanna come see me?”

“And as amazing as you all sweaty and half naked punching someone sounds, I don’t think I could not jump you and fuck you there in front of everyone.” He smirked at the shiver that ran through the British body. “You are getting kinkier babe.” He whispered as he sneaked his good hand inside his pants and pressed a finger on his hole before retreating.

“Says you. What are you going to do, then?”

“I’ll go home for the day, stay with Yuu and make sure he is actually eating.”

“You just saw him tonight!” Allen whined, but Lavi knew he was just joking; Allen would never make him pull away from someone he loved, even if that person was Kanda. 

“Don’t be a brat.” He replied merrily. “I’ll even make sure he drives me to the club, yeah?”

“He better.” The albino grumbled as he tightened the hold his boyfriend had on him. “Night bunny.”

“Night kitten.” He kissed his ear and closed his eyes, sleep already tugging at him, and judging on the way Allen was going limp on his arms, he was probably half asleep. “Love you.” he mumbled.

“Me too.” 


	11. Chapter 11

Alright, yeah, he had lied to Lavi. Straight up to his face. Well, not really since he wasn’t facing him, but whatever. And he had lied to his uncle. And siblings. Not his father, Cross could see right away through his lies, so no point on even trying. And it was good to have someone having his back, so they both had told everybody that he was meeting with an old acquaintance and nobody asked nor complained about him having to skip work. And it was a good thing that Devi loved being put on DJ dutty every now and then and he never asked why that day or anything. Tyki probably suspected something because he had giving him appointed looks all day, but Allen was not going to involve him in this, Tyki had enough trouble of his own with his blond baker to give him something else to worry about.

It wasn’t hard to find the bastards who dared to touch his bunny. You could see them from a mile away, leaning against the wall, smoking and drinking and just in front of the gay club, watching everyone who went in and out before choosing their next victim. There was seven of them, although according to Lavi three had been the ones to beat him up.  
Too bad they were going to be the ones in a hospital emergency room in an hour from there.

He hadn’t elaborated a plan further than go in and fucking break them to pieces. So that’s what he did.

“Hey.” He simply said when he reached them.

“What do you want?” One of them, the leader probably barked at him.

“A little over a month ago you beat someone up.” He simply said. “Someone you shouldn’t have ever touched.”

“We beat a lot of people up around here.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“People like you. Faggots.” Another one pointed out, the second in command, probably.

“I’m aware of that, too. But, most people are not MMA experts, now are they? My boyfriend certainly is not.” He was just looking at them with boring eyes, a trick that he had learnt from his father and that he knew, irritated the others.

“Your boyfriend? We beat up your boyfriend and you came here to look for us? What do you want to have? Matching bruises?” One of them reached out to him, so he simply grabbed his fingers and doubled them backwards, hearing them crack and the guy yell in pain, but he wasn’t anywhere near done with him, so he took a step forwards and forced him to his knees before he grabbed him by his hair, tilting his head backwards rashly.

“Did I say you could touch me, rat?” He growled before he just punched him on the nose, a cruel smile spreading on his face when the blood started to rush down. “Oops, my hand slipped.” There was no humour in his voice and when he heard the thump of an unconscious body hit the ground he looked at it with no sympathy. “Wow.”

“Bit clumsy there, don’t you think, moyashi?” They all whipped around and they all gaped at the Japanese man standing there.

“What the fuck are you doing here Bakanda?” Allen questioned, promptly ignoring the guys, who were now watching the two of them interact.

“Same as you, I presume. He may be your boyfriend, but he’s my best friend.”

And Allen couldn’t retort to that, so he just shrugged. “Just don’t get in my way.” He turned his back to Kanda, smirking at the remaining six. “So, how’s it gonna be? One on one or six against one and a half?”

“Moyashi…” Kanda growled, but other than that, ignored him promptly.

They looked at each other and then to their leader, who shrugged before standing up properly instead of leaning against the wall. “Just because you knocked Johnny here out doesn’t mean we are as easy as him.”

“It would be a shame if you were, really.” He only grinned and he could swear he heard Bakanda chuckle at that. So, dry humour was something in common. Now he had to like him a bit. Fan-fucking-tastic. “See, even that idiot there thinks that you are nothing but weak.” He taunted them, pointing at Kanda.

“For once in your life, moyashi, you are right. I mean, you beat one of them up, how hard can it be?”

One of them had apparently grown tired of their bickering and he charged against Kanda, fist tight and held up high ready to come crashing down on the Japanese. Kanda was fast to move as he dodged it and sent his palm to the guy’s chest, making sure to hit him right under his ribs which caused the guy to double over which Kanda used at his own advantage to bring his knee up and smash it into his face, breaking his nose in the process. Allen had just enough time to send a sarcastic applause in Kanda’s direction before having to defend from his own opponent’s leg. The guy sent his heel flying at Allen’s unprotected head, only to be grabbed at the ankle and flung to the ground with Allen using the kick’s momentum to propel him.

The four goons that stayed back during the fight shot a glance at each other and, in silent agreement, charged forwards at Allen. They must have assumed he would be the weaker of the two due to his shorter stature, or they could easily see the skill in Kanda since his speed was something people had to train for years to reach. Whatever their reasoning was, the faster of the three pounced, lunging with all of his weight to land on top of Allen while the other two circled to his sides in a futile attempt to block him in. Allen swung at the charging man’s jaw, knocking his head up and to the side, sending spit flying through the air. The guys on the side and back of him paid no mind to their fallen comrade and closed in on Allen in sync.

Allen sent a spinning back-kick into the man on the right’s skull before landing on both feet in a horse stance. Then he hooked his foot behind the guy on the left knee and pulled forward, forcing the man to his knees and forcing him into a leg lock by pressuring his ankle with enough force to break it. The man screamed bloody murder, clearly not used to getting into one-sided fights without being on the victorious side. The guy at Allen’s back tried to interrupt Allen’s enjoyable time of hearing this man’s pain leak out through his mouth and tried to throw Allen off, but failed miserably when Allen twisted his position and put the guy in a guillotine, fully prepared to break the guy’s neck. Instead he stopped just before the man fell unconscious. It wouldn’t do to have them mentally missing from the fun times Allen would have with them, after all. He had so much planned.

The man that charged in the beginning got up and, seeing as he was the only one that could still move, tried to flee from the scene, holding his bloodied face as gently as possible. Kanda would have none of that and hit a point on the guy’s back that sent him into a screaming fit.

Kanda grimaced a bit at Allens joyful laughter that was completely out of place next to such painful sounds. The albino drop kicked one of the fallen men before straddling him and grabbing onto his face to force eye contact. He kept adding pressure onto the jaw and listened the guy fully grown man whimper.

He only noticed something was happening when Kanda shouted and something broke over Allen’s back. With the adrenaline pulsing through his veins he reacted automatically, twisting to grab the attackers ankle and pulling. The man lost his balance, but managed to catch himself before crashing into the ground. Kanda was on home before Allen could move to do anything else. He maneuvered under the guy's minimal defences and knocked his chest back. The guy stumbled and threw a wild kick at Kanda, clipping his side but Kanda was faster and stronger so he caught his leg and forced him againstnthe wall, the guy's head banging against it, which left him unconscious on the floor. When the Japanese turned around he sawnAllwn stand up from his position over the man, cleaning his hands with his shirt.

They stared at the unconscious bodies on the floor, unimpressed and a bit disappointed it all finished so soon. Kanda spat a bit of blood on the wall next to him, wiping his mouth of with his sleeve.

“You ok?” Allen asked, arching an eyebrow. He had been involved in enough street fights through the years to know that spitting blood could mean serious damage inside.

“Yeah. You?”

“Nothing broken.” He shrugged as he stepped purposefully onto one of the guys’ hand hard enough to break his fingers. “That was boring. I hoped that at least they would last a little longer.” He kneeled next to one three of the bodies and patted them down.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Kanda asked, watching him and he could not believe his eyes when he saw the Englishman taking their wallets away. “Are you fucking robbing them? Beating them up and getting charged for it I’m fine with, robbery not so much.”

“Calm down Bakanda, I just want to make sure they’ll be behind bars for a long, long time with no need of trial. And for money, I do anything.”

“I can’t believe you. And how are you going to send them to prison without trial? Things don’t work this way.”

“Pulling some strings.” He smirked darkly. “You see, Shisho has also some contacts in both the police and a few judges and we both know that justice is not only blind but deaf and mute.”

They headed to the subway, ignoring the afraid looks everyone was giving them but hey, the were covered in blood specks and drenched in sweat. And bruised up: Allen knew he had a nice bruise forming on his left cheek which darkened the colour of his tattoo, he had a deep cut on his inner arm and a few more bruises on his stomach and back. Kanda had his lip busted, and also a bruise forming on his cheek. He had a slight limp on his step and probably had more bruises under his clothes.

They sat down in the train and watched how everyone around them took several steps away.

“Is he going to kill us for doing this?” Kanda questioned out of the blue, startling the albino.  
“Most definitely. Unless we tell him a lie. Something like we fought each other.” The British replied tiredly.

“Does that mean we have to be… friends now?” He spat the word as if it as venom in his mouth.

And Allen’s eyes just grew big and thunderstruck and he stared at the dark haired male next to him. “Unfortunately.” He spat back.

He did not sign up for this. He did not sign up for having to deal with Kanda more than it was strictly necessary to keep his boyfriend happy. And now he’d have to lie to Lavi’s face with Kanda? For all he knew, that bastard could just betray him at any moment's notice! Then again that meant Kanda would be exposing himself, too.

“So we have to trust each other?” The musician questioned.

“Unfortunately.” Allen made a face at him before standing up. “Where are you getting off at?”

“Nalei’s. I want him to clean my cut. If my uncle sees me like that I’ll be bedridden for at least a week.” He sighed: Neah was so incredibly paranoid when one of his children got hurt. And Allen and the twins were usually the ones on top of that list. “You?”

“I’ll go to Alma’s. No need to confront Lavi right now.” He replied, also getting up as he had to change lines to get to his boyfriend’s home.

* * *

Nalei had ripped him a new one. He had been yelling at him for irresponsible, for not thinking things through and for making him worry.

“You didn’t even know I was going there!” He exclaimed.

  
“Are you kidding me right now? I have known you since we were fucking 6, I was in your downlows, you were in mine and you have never, _ever_ , gone dressed in a fucking hoodie to meet any of your clients or whatever, Cross would have never allowed it because how do you plan to intimidate anyone dressed like that?” Nalei barked at him as he pulled his sleeve up and started to disinfect the wound with no delicacy and making sure Allen felt it.

  
He didn’t reply to that because it was true. Cross would have killed him before he ever let him go to business dressed in a hoodie and jeans.

  
“Does Lavi know?”

  
“C’mon, of course not. He’d kill me.” Allen slumped against the sofa, letting his best friend do his thing.

  
“And what are you going to tell him? That you fell down the stairs?”

  
“Fight with Kanda.” He replied.

  
“And you think he’s going to bite that?”

  
“Kanda’s no better than me, I tell you.”

“What do you mean…? Oh Lord. You dragged him into this too? Allen!”

  
“Hey, hey, hey! He came on his own, it was just mere coincidence. You think I’d take him into a fight? For all I know he could just knock me out too!”

  
Nalei sighed and look at him, his eyes holding an unbelievable amount of bore in them. “So you are telling me that you both found yourselves having to fight side to side against the ones that beat Lavi up and now you are planning to lie to him saying you got into a fight with each other?”

  
“Exactly. He went to Alma’s anyway, so we are not seeing Lavi today.”

  
“You do remember that we are all coming tomorrow to the club, right?”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. No, of course he did not remember otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten himself into the fight! Fucking hell. Lavi, Alma and probably Lena were going to kill them and then bring them back to life so the next one could kill them.   
“I’m not going to live through this, right?”

  
Nalei sat next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “What I think you should do, is go to Lavi and explain everything to him. Don’t lie to him, he’s going to find out sooner or later and I don’t think you should hide something that big, it won’t do you any good.”

  
Allen bit his lip because he knew that, he knew that in a relationship there should be no lies. “Yeah. I guess I’ll text Kanda telling him.” He said as he fished his phone.

  
BaKanda, I’m going to tell Lavi. I ain’t risking my relationship for your ass. Do whatever you want from this point on.  
Bakanda: Why am I not even surprised? Just do whatever you want to do, I’ll deal with him later on, I have enough with Alma right now.

  
Oh great, now they were having proper conversations. He seriously did not sign up for this.

  
“Want me to drive you there?”

  
“If you don’t mind.” He replied before kissing his cheek. “Thank you. For everything.” He said.

  
“Al, you are like my brother. And Lavi’s important to you and he makes you happy. You know I’d do anything to keep you happy.” Allen nodded, not trusting his voice. He knew that, Nalei had fucking moved with them from fucking China to England in a heartbeat when Cross called him, he left everything he had behind for his sake.

  
“I’d do the same for you.” The albino told him.  
“You already did.”

  
They did not talk about Nalei’s sister’s death too often because it was a topic that was painful for both of them. Allen loved Miena, she was like a big sister for him too. When she died him and Cross had been in Vietnam doing their thing and when Nalei called them, his voice broken and teary, he had asked Cross if he could go back to India. The man said no, that they had nothing to do there, so what Allen did was to win enough money at poker and then he bought a train ticket to India. The problem came when he hit the border and the agents found a seven years old kid with some serious attitude problems and with no passport nor legal documents on him. So he had given them the number of his master (after a few hours of making the officers suffer). Cross had been furious at him, almost slapping him in front of everyone, barely refraining himself, but Allen had said very clearly he would ran away again unless they went to India with Nalei. And so they did, and then moved to China because Cross had somewhat settled down with Nalei’s auntie.

  
And a couple of years later they moved to Africa, Australia, Central America and Europe and then the accident happened.  
“C’mon, let’s go before it’s too late. I still have classes tomorrow.” Allen smiled and stood up, following the Indian to his car.

  
The ride was done in silence except for the occasional humming Allen made when a song he more or less liked popped in the radio. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” The musician said as he stepped out of the car.

  
“If you are alive.”

  
“Ha. Ha. Ha.” He flipped him off before he opened the door to the building, praying to all the deities he knew that he’d survive what was going to come his way. He rang the bell and waited.

  
“Coming!” He heard the footsteps and watched how the knob turned, the lock pop and the door open. Silence. And then… “What the fuck happened to you?”

  
“We uh… we better sit down for this.” He said as he stepped in, removing his shoes.

  
Lavi said nothing, but the frown in his face said he was not happy at all with this whole situation. They went to the ginger’s room and sat on the bed, facing each other. “Are you alright?” He cradled his face to take a better look at the darkening bruise.

  
“Ah yeah, it isn’t much.” He replied before shuffling closer and sitting on his lap. “Before anything, I just want you to know that what I did, I did it for you and that I would do it again without a second thought. And I know you are going to be mad at me but please hear me out first.”

  
Lavi nodded and kissed his forehead, wrapping his arms around him just so he knew he wasn’t going anywhere.  
“I got into a fight.” He started, tentatively. “I… provoked the fight. I went there knowing that I would beat the crap out of those guys. There were seven of them but I knocked one out with a punch so really there were only six but then Kanda appeared so he took care of one of them because the other ganged up on me and…”

  
“Wait, wait, wait. Where did you go? And why was Kanda there?”

  
Allen looked down, worrying his lower lip and wringing his hands. “P-Pimlico.” He muttered.

  
Lavi closed his eyes in resignation. “Pimlico?”

  
“Yeah. I couldn’t bear the thought of them getting away with what they did to you. They didn’t deserve to be happy and just forget about what they did to you. They had to pay for it.” He was still not looking at him.

  
“And what if you couldn’t have taken them down, huh? Would I have to be on a waiting room in a hospital praying to anyone up there to not take you away from me? Is that what you wanted?” He wasn’t yelling, but he was close to it and that only made Allen feel guilty.

  
“No. I don’t want to cause you any pain.” He replied, still looking down. “But I couldn’t live with myself if I hadn’t done anything to them. It… it breaks my heart every time you wake up sweating and crying and reaching for me because of a nightmare. You didn’t deserve this, you are one of the best people I have ever known. This shouldn’t have happened to you.”

  
Lavi sighed and hugged him tighter. “It’s not your fault love.” He kissed his head. “I’m not mad that you went there, I’m mad that you lied to me about it.”

  
“You wouldn’t have let me go if I hadn’t. And if it’s any consolation I lied to the guys as well.” He rested his head on his shoulder and wrapped his legs around him. “You really aren’t mad?”

  
“No kitten. I’m not happy about it, but I’m not going to yell at you or kick you out. You did it for me and that’s something I’ll never forget.” He was in silence for a while, his hands rubbing on Allen’s back. “You are, by far, the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  
That brought a smile to the younger’s face. Finally. “Right back at you.” He straightened up and bit and kissed him on the lips.

  
Lavi responded to the kiss by biting his lover’s bottom one and sucking it before splitting. “What about Kanda?”

  
“Ah, we actually met there by coincidence. He decided it’d be a good day to beat the guys who beat his best friend, I guess.”

“He… did it for me?” He was feeling awkward now. Allen he had expected and was not surprised by him going to fight them. Kanda? Sure, he knew Kanda cared about him, he just never figured out that this much.

“Lavi, babe, I think you haven’t fully grasped at the concept that Kanda is so fucking protective of you.”

“I know he cares and that he is overprotective of me. Kids at school used to make fun of me and tease because of my eyepatch so he’d chase them away and all of that, he never did it in front of me though. I just never thought he’d go to these lengths for me.” He shrugged and the albino chuckled before hugging him again, sighing. “Tired sweetheart?” Allen hummed as he nodded, burrowing further into Lavi’s warmth. “Change your clothes for some of mine and let’s go to bed.”

“Okay.” Now that the fight was over and he knew Lavi wasn’t mad at him, he was feeling exhausted. He sat on the bed and took of his shirt, hissing when it pressed his cut and then he moved to his jeans, letting the clothes hit the floor with no care in the world. Lavi chuckled before helping him get into his clothes, smiling sweetly at how adorable Allen looked with an oversized shirt and pants.

“C’mon, slytherin.” He said and Allen giggled at the pun before he crawled under the sheets on the side of the wall, curling around Lavi when the elder was lying too. “Good night. I love you.”

“Love you too.” And he was out like a light.

The redhead chuckled and cuddled him closer, kissing his hair before falling asleep too.


	12. Chapter 12

He had been back to work for three weeks and he was wishing to be on medical leave again. It had been such a blissful month and a half when he had been out of there and pretty much 24/7 with his boyfriend. And a part of him had hoped that they would tone down the jokes and comments, but not only did that not happen, but it had gotten worse: they had gone to rape jokes, they had never really stepped over that boundary before.

However, there was apparently somebody who cared about him to some extent, since when he got back there was a card inside his drawer that read “We are happy you are back and well.” and was signed by J.W and A.S. He knew them, they were the two new interns, a guy and girl and they had been around him for the first weeks before they got sent to another department.

And all of the comments, the ill pranks and having grown so used to Allen’s and the guys’ presences all the time had him considering something he hadn’t before: to get the fuck out of there and accept Allen’s offer.

“Say faggot, what did happen to you? Did someone rape you? I mean, knowing your kind this is probably you enjoy, right?” Johanson. He was the worst of them all, the leader of the gang, if you will.

He did not reply, whatever he said he was going to be mocked, so he kept working on his article, he would grow bored of it and then move to bully someone else, it always worked.

And suddenly, his screen went black. He looked up and saw Johanson’s pet, a guy named Richard with the plug in his hand, smirk in his face.

“Oops.” He said, but Lavi still kept silence before standing up and walking away, hearing them laugh.

“Hey Lavi! Can you…?”

“Not now.” The girl had done nothing to him, but he seriously needed to get some air. He went down the street to the corner, where he fished his phone out. 2.30pm, hopefully Allen was awake. 

“Kitten?”

**“Hey bunny. What’s up?”** So he was. Good.  **“Bunny?”**

“Can we go out?”

**“Eh? D-do you mean a date?”** It was funny that after months of dating the prospect of being taken out still made him stutter.

“Of course babe. I… I need to talk you about something.”

**“Alright. You finish at 3.30, right?”** Lavi hummed in agreement.  **“I’ll come pick you up then.”**

“Awesome. I love you.”

**“Love you too.”**

He didn’t go back to the newspaper immediately, he wandered for about half an hour before going back to his desk, plug the computer back on, start it and start typing. The second the bell rang, he printed what he had time to write, folded it neatly and put in his back pocket and headed downstairs.

“Lavi!” He turned around when he saw the two young interns waving at him; sighing he headed to them. Jen hugged him and Adrian patted him on the shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“Usual.” He shrugged and the girl let go of him, smiling sadly. “You two?”

“It’s not bad in the Sports section, but not what we wanted.” Adrian replied. “Do you want to go have lunch?”

He smirked a bit at that as he shook his head, heading outside and the two followed him. “My boyfriend is coming to pick me up.”

“You have a boyfriend?” Jen shrieked. “Since when?”

“About 8 months ago, though we started sleeping around for like 4 months before we started properly dating.” He replied as he fished his phone out, someone calling. “Babe?”

**“I got lost.”**

Lavi chuckled. “Where are you?”

**“In front of an Irish pub, next to a 24/7 store.”**

“Alright, stay there and I’ll come fetch ya.”

**“Ok!”** He hung up and smiled at the teens in front of him.

“I’ll see you two around, I guess. Take care.” He said before he headed to the pub.

He spotted him right away: his white hair was tied on a loose braid, he was wearing bright skinny red jeans, black button-up and black All stars trainers. He had the sleeves rolled up and his black arm was left out for everyone to see, he was wearing his fingerless leather gloves and sunglasses sat atop of his head. He was listening to music with his headphones and leaning on his side against a wall. He looked gorgeous, as usual.

He sneaked up on him, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing his neck. He felt him jump a bit before relaxing in his arms and taking his headphones out, heavy metal blasting out of them.

“Hello sweetheart.” Lavi drawled. “Spooked you?”

“Meanie.” Allen turned around and kissed him on the lips, wrapping his arms around his neck. “Are you alright?”

Lavi nodded. “I am now.” Allen grinned and kissed his cheek, taking a step backwards. 

“So, where are you taking me, love?”

“There’s a great cafe not far from here. Have you had breakfast?” Allen shook his head. “Perfect, I can have lunch and you have breakfast.” The albino nodded and took his hand in his, black marrying white.

They headed there, Allen babbling excitedly about the new club. The ginger had realised that whenever he was extremely nervous he would ramble about this and that in hopes to make the mood lighter.

They sat down and ordered their food and the musician dropped the act, quieting down. “Lavi?”

“Yes?”

“What did you want to talk about?” He asked, reaching for both his hands and fiddling with the white fingers. He was worried, he didn’t think that his boyfriend wanted to break up with him, they hadn’t had any problem besides his little lie about Pimlico a few weeks ago. But Lavi didn’t seem to have taken it badly, they didn’t even fight over it. Maybe he had been faking it and he had been mad? Probably not, Lavi wore his heart on his sleeve. “Is it something I’ve done?”

“No kitten. You haven’t done anything. I… I need to ask you something. Something serious.” Allen nodded, all of his attention on his boyfriend. “All those times you said I should be working with you, at the club, were you serious?”

“Yes, of course! Why wouldn’t I be serious about that?”

“It’s not what I studied.” The ginger pointed out, shrugging. 

“The only ones who studied something related to what we really do in there are Lulu, Sheryl, Mai and me. Tyki is a leptidorolist! The twins did Drama and Road is in a Translation school, but we all work there. Uncle would give you a job in a heartbeat.” Lavi nodded, understanding. “Neah says it’s not a matter of what you studied, but to have a fun time while working. You never seemed happy to work at the newspapers, so I kept offering.” Lavi felt his heart clench at that: Allen had been serious all this time and he had taken it as a mere joke.

“I’m sorry sweetheart.” He said, nodding at the waitress who brought them their food. 

“About what?”

“A few things: thinking you were joking, dismissing the idea without ever really giving it a second thought, lying to you…”

“Hold up,  _ lying _ ?” He set his fork down, the piece of waffle still on it.

Lavi knew this was not going to be pretty, especially not with Allen’s volatility when it came down to him. He steeled himself and nodded. “Do you remember that day you asked me what was wrong with my workplace?”

“Of course. It was the same day you asked me for a date.” How could he forget that day? It was one of the few he held dearly in his memory.

“Exactly. I told you that Kanda always looked mad because I had a fight with my boss. It… wasn’t 100% true. The guys at work are homophobes, which is not surprising given where I work.” Allen rolled his eyes at that: he worked at one of the most biased newspapers in the country, of course it wasn’t surprising. “Anyway, one day they decided it’d be fun to rough me up. Nothing like that other time but…’ He shrugged and the albino took his hand in his and brushed his knuckled. “Ever since then Kanda has been trying to convince me to quit my place there.”

“And you haven’t because…?”

“I never had another shot to another job and there’s no way I’m freeloading with him.” He explained. “I know his father would pay for my part of the deal, but I don’t want to depend on him like that, it’s not fair.”

“Why hadn’t you told me about that?” He was slightly hurt: did Lavi not trust him enough?

“We were just starting to go out together and I didn’t want you to think I was some weak person who couldn’t handle anything. And I don’t know, it was easy to forget about them when I was around you.” He kissed his hand and smiled sadly. “I thought that after being away for awhile things... I don’t know, would have changed a bit. I wasn’t hoping for them to suddenly worry about me or anything, but I had hoped that maybe they would at least leave me alone. It only got worse.”

Allen nodded and decided to forget about this, he didn’t want to get into more trouble. “So you’ll come work at the club?” He questioned, changing the topic, his eyes full of hope. 

“If there’s something I can do.” He replied, glad that Allen hadn’t had an outburst or ran against them.

“You can work at the bar with Lulu! She says she needs help when Road is not there!” He suggested, excitedly. “And she’ll have to go to Liverpool to train the barman or woman there for a while, so you’ll have to take over!” He was so cute when he was like that. It amused Lavi to no end that a person that could beat five guys and intimidate and threaten anyone to the point of making them tremble in fear could also be this adorable. “Uncle is here this week, how about we go talk to him?”

“Uh…” He was a bit nervous about it, maybe Neah didn’t want him around that much, but seeing his lover so happy and enthusiastic was worth everything. But you know what? Fuck it, Allen had given him a taste of what his life could be like, there was no way he would go back to his boring life if he had a chance of having something else. “Sure, why not?” Allen grinned and smooched his cheek.

“It’s going to be awesome.”

“Of course it will.” 

They finished their meal and then headed to Neah’s house. Allen opened the door with his spare key and they helped themselves inside, going to the kitchen where voices were heard.

“Hello!” Allen said, smiling brightly and walking up to his father to kiss his cheek and then his uncle, his hand still grabbing Lavi’s, who just followed him around.

“Hello boys.” Neah smiled at the both of them as he set another two cups out. “What brings you here?” 

“We have a proposition for you.” Allen said as they sat down on the other two stools.

Both adults looked a bit perplexed at that, but shrugged it off. “Well, let’s discuss it over a cup of tea, yes?” The elder musician said as he also took a seat next to Cross after he served everyone tea. “Alright, spit it out.”

“You know how Lulu has been asking for someone to help her at the bar and you always say you don’t know anyone whom you trust enough to let into the family, right?” Neah arched an eyebrow and nodded. “Would… Would you let Lavi in?” He questioned.

“What?” Campbell looked at him and then Lavi, who squirmed a bit. “What about the newspaper?”

“I have been having trouble there for quite sometime now. For being gay, you know. It’s been getting worse after the… accident. And Allen and the guys have always been saying I should work with them and…” He shrunk a bit at the memories and Allen grabbed his hand, brushing his knuckles.

Cross face softened at that and Neah couldn’t help but smile: they looked so cute together. “Have you ever worked on a bar?” Neah asked and Lavi shook his head. “Are you a quick learner?”

“I have three major degrees if that helps.” Lavi replied and he couldn’t deny feeling smug when the other two stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Three? Why hadn’t you told us?” Cross questioned. He himself had a double career in Physics and Chemistry.

“I don’t like bragging about it.” Lavi shrugged, sipping at his tea.

“He does. But only after people find out.” The albino gave him away, smirking and the ginger rolled his visible eye and pinched his side.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting this.” Neah smiled and looked at them. “You start on Monday. I’ll talk Lulu on teaching you the easy concoctions during the day.”

Both young adults grinned and their eyes grew bigger, Allen jumping from the stool and hugging his uncle, laughing and kissing his cheek. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” 

Lavi hadn’t gotten up, wrapping his mind around the idea of working with his boyfriend every day of the week. Some would say that it would ruin their relationship, but he doubted that it would, if anything it would probably just make it stronger and besides, they wouldn’t even be working in the same room.

“Thank you very much.” He finally stood up and walked up to them, putting his hand out for Neah to shake, but the man just shook his head in amusement and tugged him down to hug him.

“You better start hugging me boy.” He said. “You’ve been family for a long time and I let it slip but now there’s no way you are getting away with it.” Lavi laughed as he hugged him back. It felt good to have someone hugging him. Someone that acted like a father figure to him, even at age 24 it was something he liked to finally have. Panda had never been one to give hugs out.

“Thank you.” He mumbled, but this time it had a completely different meaning and they all knew it.

They talked over the minor details as they finished their drinks and then they parted ways: Cross had to go back to the University, Neah had to meet with his manager and they decided to go home.

They were in the subway when Allen felt something in his boyfriend’s pocket, so he pulled a paper out. “What’s that?”

“My resignation letter.” He simply replied. “I wrote it back at work and printed it.”

“When are you going to hand it in?” The albino questioned.

“Tomorrow morning when my shift starts.” He told him and then moved to open the door and get out of the train. 

“I’d pay to see their faces.”

“Well, my shift starts at 6.30 on Wednesdays now thanks to my dear boss, so you could actually come see their faces if you are up to it.”

“Sweetheart, I said I’d  _ pay _ for it, and you know how much I love my money.” Allen grinned and grabbed his hand.

“True enough.” 

They walked quickly to Allen’s house as it was starting rain lightly and as soon as they shut the door behind them, Lavi hugged his lover tightly. 

“Thank you.” He mumbled and Allen laughed, wrapping his arms around him.

“What for?”

“Appearing in my life. Giving me a new chance to be happy. Making me happy.” He whispered and the younger sighed, kissing his cheek before he removed the patch, setting it on the little table next to him.

“I love you.” He simply said, not knowing what else to say.

“I love you too.” The ginger paused for a second. “Do you have practice today?” Allen shook his head. “How about we go to Camden, then?”

“Camden? What for?” He looked up, still hugging him.

“Believe it or not, I’ve never been there.” The albino gaped at him. “What? I always thought I could go there any other time.”

“You are unbelievable.” Allen laughed and stepped away from him and towards the door. “Although you could have just say so in the underground bunny.”

“Sorry.” He said and the musician rolled his eyes, slapping his ass as he too stepped outside the house, tightening his orange scarf around his neck and slipping his eyepatch back on.

They arrived at Camden without getting lost thanks to the elder one. Lavi stopped at every single stand and had it been someone else Allen would have already dragged them out, but his boyfriend looked like a kid in a toy store, excited and rambling about facts of this and that. Allen stepped next to him, his hands inside his pockets and his nose slightly red.

“I’ll go get us something warm to drink.” Lavi announced as he kissed his cheek, leaving him alone in a leather bracelets stand. He had noticed that Allen loved leather bands even more than he did, and that's saying something.

“Alright.”

When he went back to the store with two glasses of warm fruity wine he realised his lover had wandered off somewhere else. “Excuse me ma’am, the white haired guy with a tattoo on his face?”

“He went downstairs, love.” The woman said, smiling at him. “Your boyfriend?” She asked.

“Yes ma’am.” He grinned proudly as he eyed a bracelet. “How much is that?”

“15.”

“Alright, give me those two.” She nodded and paid her the amount, not in the mood to start bargaining. He wouldn’t usually buy something that expensive as he usually made his own bracelets at home, but for Allen every penny was worth it. “Thank you.” He put the two bracelets in his pocket and went to find his lover.

He found him at a candle stand. “Are you trying to get lost?” He questioned, handing him the cup with the warm liquid.

“Sorry, they just smelled so good.” He picked up a vanilla ice-cream candle and an apple pie one. “I’ll get them for the house.” He said. “Do you want one? My treat.”

“Hm… Green tea and pineapple.” The elder replied, wrapping an arm around his lover’s waist and slipping his hand into his pocket.

“I hope you are not tricking me into buying something for Bakanda, Lavi.” 

“Nah, he hates candles. I thought we could put it in your room at the club if you liked it.” He suggested before sipping on his wine.

“Our.”

“Hm?”

“Our room. You have your stuff there and we sleep together in there more often than not, so I’d say it’s our room rather than just mine.” Allen explained as he examined the rest of candles.

“I like the sound of that.” Lavi kissed him on the head. “What about the berries one?” He pointed at it and Allen grabbed it and sniffed it before letting Lavi do the same. “I like it.”

“We can put in the bathroom.” He said and Lavi nodded. Allen handed all of them to the man and paid. “What do you want to do now?”

“Let’s go back to your house or the club, I don’t really care. I just want to get out of this damned freezing weather.” Lavi replied, wrapping both his hands around his cup.

“Let’s go get the car at home and head to the club. I don’t like driving when it’s raining.” Allen replied as they went down the stairs to the platform.

Lavi didn’t ask, but he could guess why he didn’t like it: it was probably raining the day they had the car crash. It still amazed him that both Allen and Cross drove after that, a lot people were afraid to even get into a car after a crash like theirs.

“You are awesome.” He whispered and Allen only grinned, used to Lavi complimenting him at weird times.

“You too.”

* * *

“Are you alright? You’ve been really silent for a while.” Allen questioned out of the blue. They were one their bed at the club, the albino working on his composition for Neah as Lavi read a book he had bought and had in his backpack.

“Reading.” Lavi simply replied.

“You are never silent, not even while reading.” Allen pointed out as he looked up from the screen. “Seriously, what’s going on? Are you having seconds thoughts on working here?” He pulled the book out of his hands and set it down on the floor along with his laptop so he could sit on his lap.

“Of course not sweetheart. There’s nothing in this world that would make me change my mind about it.” He replied as he wrapped his arms around his waist. “I bought something.”

Allen simply arched an eyebrow. So what if he had bought something? It’d be weird if he hadn’t considering he had been the one to suggest to go to Camden. Besides he also had bought the candles, so why was he nervous about having bought something.

“You don’t have to wear if you don’t like it, or I can go change it if you wish.” Oh… So he had bought something for him! It made more sense, but it still didn’t explain why he was so nervous, it wasn’t the first time Lavi had bought him something!

“Well, where is it?” He questioned and rose on his knees when Lavi moved under him to get his jacket, that was on the floor next to the bed.

The ginger pulled the two bracelets out and gave Allen the one with a Leo symbol on it as he had a Capricorn one in his hand. “As I said, if you don’t like I can change it or you can throw it away and…”

“Lavi, shut the fuck up.” Allen said as he examined it: three strings of leather had been braid and in the middle of it there was what seemed to be a silver Leo symbol. It was simple yet classy. He loved it. And the fact that they were matching bracelets made it all the better. “You are so stupid.”

“What…?”

“How could you think I’d throw it away? You gave it to me!” He hugged him, shuffling closer. “I love it.”

None of his previous boyfriends had ever given him a present like that one, it was usually sweets or bracelets, but never a matching bracelet, something that both of them could have and that it would represent and mean something to those around them, too.

“Why not a ring?” He questioned, his hands moving to play with Lavi’s red strands.

“I’ve never seen you wearing any, and I figured I couldn’t use them while being at the bar so I thought a bracelet would be better, I mean, you do have a lot of them.”

Allen smiled and cuddled in closer, admiring the shine of the silver as he held it up on his fingers. “Black hand or white hand?” He questioned.

“Black hand. It would look so much prettier, the silver would shine more.” Lavi said as he took it and put it around his wrist. “Beautiful.” He whispered once it was on and then he kissed the inner part of his arm.

“Thank you.” Allen replied, kissing his mouth. He was just so happy. After Chaozii, he had never thought he would get to be there one day, cuddling and been given presents like a matching bracelet, he had thought he would end up alone in his studio for ever more. “I love you so much.” He whispered, feeling emotional all of a sudden.

Lavi chuckled and hugged him tighter. “And I you.” He rubbed circles on his back, kissing his neck, Allen going lax in his arms as he got more comfortable on his lap, letting Lavi kiss him anywhere he wanted.

He enjoyed this kind of attention, to be spoiled and pampered in kisses and light touches and sweet nothings muttered against skin, nothing sexual going on. Before Lavi he always had to be the one to ask for cuddling or initiate it, trying to not sound needy, pushy or just downright annoying. Chaozii was never really fond of it so he tried to avoid cuddling as much as possible, and yet Lavi seemed to have no problem to hold him against his chest when they were laying on the sofa or gather him into his lap and start kissing him like he was doing now. He never really had to ask for it, Lavi would just know. And if he wanted something different all he really had to do was to move the ginger around until he was held the way he wanted, as he did on the sofa the first few times until Lavi got it and just started doing it on his own.

“What…?” He blinked drowsily when Lavi stopped kissing his shoulder.

“I need to tell you something.” Allen arched an eyebrow and nodded. “I haven’t told my grandpa about us. I don’t really have a proper excuse for it other than I didn’t want to tell him over the phone.” He said, his hands sliding up and down his arms. “I never had a problem before but you… You are too important to tell him via phone.”

“Okay…? And you are telling me this because…?” Okay, so he hadn’t told his grandfather about them? So what? Sheryl took over an year after him and Tricia had started dating before he told Neah. Lavi sometimes worried about the most stupid things.

“You don’t mind?” He had been mildly surprised: he had told his family they day after he asked him on a date but he didn’t care he hadn’t told Panda.

“I’m quick to share everything with everybody, especially between us, but I don’t expect you to be the same way bunny. I mean, Sheryl only told Neah after he and Tricia had been together for a year and because Tyki threatened him to.” He smiled and pecked his lips before nuzzling his nose on his neck. “I’m happy that you told me that, but I don’t want you worrying about something like this. I’m happy with him not knowing for as long as you want or need. It’d be good to know him, but I'm not going to push you into doing it.”

Lavi smiled sweetly and nodded. “He’s coming over for Christmas, how about we tell him then?”

“Sure. Christmas present!” He exclaimed and giggled, plastering himself against Lavi once more when he realised something. “You are a Leo, right?” Lavi hummed. “August?” He hummed again. “We missed your birthday! Why didn’t you say anything?” He pulled up and frowned at him.

“It was when you were in Liverpool and you were troubled enough. Besides, I never really cared for it. My parents never celebrated it and my grandfather never really made anything big of it, same as Yuu.” He explained, frowning. “And anyway, I did get a lovely gift from you on my birthday.”

“Huh?”

“I called you, you sang for me.” He was saying it so sweetly, but there was a smirk on his face.

Allen pouted at that. “You should have told me.” 

“As I said, I don’t care much for it. And I know you would have worried about being away, so I opted for not saying a word about it.” He went back to kissing his neck. “I’m just happy to be together with you on a daily basis, and I don’t need a present on my birthday to know that you love me.” He whispered. 

“Well, I am sooo getting you presents for Christmas.” Allen replied, relaxing once more in his boyfriend’s arms and hearing him chuckle. 

“And you? When’s your birthday?” He questioned as he started to pop the buttons of his lover’s shirt off. He slid the fabric down his arms and dropped in on the floor next to his jacket and then went back to peppering kisses on his lover’s upper body.

“I shouldn’t tell you since you didn’t tell me yours.” He replied softly, his arms resting on Lavi’s shoulder blades.

Lavi rolled his eyes, bit his nipple and then sucked. “You do know I can walk down there at lunch and just ask for it and everyone will tell me, right?”

Allen scoffed because he was right. “December 25.” 

“Really? Christmas day?” He stopped kissing to look at him.

“Hey, don’t stop.” The redhead chuckled before he went back to kissing and biting. “It’s the day Mana adopted me, we decided it would also be my birthday.” He explained before he tugged Lavi and kissed him on the lips, passionately and moaning low on his throat. 

Lavi responded the kiss with just as much passion until they had to break it to breathe. “Are you hard kitten?” The albino shook his head: he wasn’t, he had simply been enjoying the pampering. The now ex-reporter nodded and lay down, Allen following suit. “What time is it?”

“Must be around 8. Why?”

“Nothing in particular. Can I have my book back?”

“As long you don’t ignore me.” Allen said, smiling cheekily as he fished it from the floor.

“When have I ever ignored you sweetheart?” The ginger said as he accepted the book and went back to reading, Allen content to just cuddle by his side, playing on his phone.

“Have you told Bakanda?” Allen asked.

“Not yet. I guess I’ll tell him later. Wanna be there?” Lavi answered, his eyes never leaving the book.

“Well, of course!” He grinned cheekily. “I wouldn’t pay to see  _ his _ face, but I certainly won’t let the opportunity of seeing him gawking like an idiot fly by.” Lavi chuckled and pinched his side, softly.

“And here I thought that after you two went to Pimlico you’d be friends.”

“He may have earned a bit of my respect after going there for you, but he’s still a jerk.” 

“Well, I guess I can’t have everything.” The redhead said, chuckling.

Allen shook his head and moved to kiss him on the lips when a knock interrupted him. “Come in!” He said and Tyki stepped in. 

“Oh. Hey Lavi. I can come back later if you two are busy.” The Portuguese said.

“We weren’t doing anything.” Allen replied as he sat down, crossing his legs. “What’s up?”

“Can we talk for a sec?” He questioned and Allen nodded.

“I’ll go downstairs and see if they need help for lunch.” Lavi announced as he stood up, kissing his boyfriend on the head as he usually did and patting Tyki on the arm before slipping out.

Tyki sat down next to his baby brother, resting his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. “Problems with your baker?


	13. Chapter 13

Tyki sat down next to his baby brother, resting his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. “Problems with your baker?” Allen questioned and the elder nodded. “What is it?”

“He… He said he didn’t want to see me anymore.” Tyki replied and when he looked up he had tears going down his cheeks. “I know I’m not exactly the kind of person one would trust in a relationship, but I thought that… that maybe he liked me too.”

Allen frowned sadly before hugging him. “Tyki…” He started to comb his hair. “It’s his lost, if he can’t see how amazing you are it’s his lost really, not yours.” He told him. “Did he say...  _ really _ say that? He gave you his number, he seemed to like you back.”

“I know! We-we had been talking and going to have coffee some afternoons, when he had free time. I thought I was doing good! That I was good!”

“And you are! Tyki, you are!” He forced him to remove the hands from his face. “Tyki, you are an awesome person. Anyone can tell you that,  _ I _ can tell you that. I know. You are the person that helped me out the most after the accident when Nal was gone, you are the one who helped me after Chaozii.” He brushed the hair out of his face and dried his tears: maybe he was the youngest of the two, but Tyki was his big brother and no one could say otherwise and if someone thought he wouldn’t care for his brother they were dead wrong. “Did you ask him why he said that?”

“What?”

“Did you ask him why he said that?” He repeated and Tyki shook his head.

“I froze in place. I couldn’t think, I came back here in autopilot.” He sobbed. “I really tried my best, I really did.” He wrapped his arms the albino, tears streaming down his face once more.

“I know you did, and if he couldn’t see that, he doesn’t deserve you.” Allen whispered in his ear. “Forget about him, he’s not good enough for you.”

“B-but I… I really like him. I don’t think I’ll find someone like him ever again.”

Allen kissed the side of his head and it was then he realised that he was starting to pick some of Lavi’s gestures to him. “I thought the same after Chaozii, and now I couldn’t be happier with Lavi. I wouldn’t give him up for anything, you understand? Sometimes what we cry for is not what we think we want, is what we really need. Lavi is all I need, ever needed. I don’t have to tell him what I need, he just knows it, and this is the sort of person you must look for, someone who can provide you what you need without you telling them.”

“He can do that?” The Southerner questioned, his voice quivering.

“Yeah. Th-that’s what we were doing. He bought matching bracelets for us.” He told him. “And he started to kiss me on my face and neck, removed my shirt, continued to kiss me. He doesn’t have a problem on cuddling me or pampering me like that. And I don’t have to ask for it. With Chaozii it was something impossible.” Tyki hummed, understanding. 

They didn’t say anything else, but there was something nagging Allen at the back of his head: he had just said all that, but what if Link had been  _ it _ for Tyki?

He felt Mikk’s head slip a bit and he shook him lightly. “You are exhausted, why don’t you go to sleep? I’ll take over Poker tonight, put Devi on DJ.” He suggested.

“What about Lavi? He came here to see you.”

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll be seeing him everyday anyway now.”

Tyki looked up, frowning. He had spent enough time around Allen to know when he was being hiding something and wanted it to be found out. “Ok, I’ll bite into it. What did you mean by that?”

“He left his job at the newspaper. They… I don’t know the details, but they were homophobes and liked to make fun of him and make his life harder, so just today, he left. And you know Lulu has been asking for help at the bar, right?” Tyki nodded. “We went to see uncle and dad this afternoon and uncle agreed on hiring Lavi to help Lulu so he can also take over when she goes to Liverpool.”

Tyki smiled. “It’ll be good to have him around. He makes you happy and that’s all we ever wanted for you little brother.” Tyki whispered and Allen nodded.

“And that’s what we want you to find.” He parted the hug and slipped his shirt back on. “Go to bed, alright. Sleep, we can talk tomorrow.”

Tyki nodded, standing up. “Don’t tell Sheryl, please.”

“Alright.” He hadn’t intended to, anyway. There must have been a reason for Tyki to not go to his brother. He walked the elder to his room and waited for him to be in bed before kissing his cheek. “Sleep well, don’t overthink it.” 

“Yeah. And Al? Thank you.” He wrapped his long finger around his nape and brought his baby brother down so he could kiss forehead.

“Don’t you ever thank me for helping you. You are my brother and I love you, you know that.” he simply said.

“I love you too.” Allen smiled at that before stepping away. “Good night.”

“Good night. Call me if you need anything, alright?” Tyki nodded, his eyes full of gratitude. “Oh, and about Lavi…”

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed until Neah announces it.” Allen nodded his appreciation before closing the door.

He went downstairs, where Lavi was helping Road with her homework. “Hey sweetheart.” The ginger greeted as soon as he spotted him, letting him sit on his lap. “Everything alright?” He shrugged, his eyes downcast. “Want to talk about it?”

“Later.” He said, not wanting to bring the topic in front of the girl.

“Alright. Where’s Tyki?” Lavi questioned. “This one is wrong. You didn’t use the declination properly.” He said, tapping on an exercise she was doing.

“He was feeling a bit under the weather, so he went to sleep, I’ll take over the Poker table tonight. Do you mind?”

“Of course not. It’s your job, too. Road said Tricia was coming over, so I’ll stay here with her.” He replied, his chin resting on Allen’s shoulder and his arms around his waist, obviously picking on Allen’s distress.

“Alright.”

Allen watched how Lavi helped his youngest sibling out with her Latin homework. “You also know Latin?”

“Did a course while I was Uni, to kill some time.” Lavi replied.

“Of course you did.”

It wasn’t long until everyone started arriving. “Hey boys!” Allen turned around at the familiar voice.

“Hey Nalei!” The albino greeted, turning around. The Indian had been also going to the club more often, though not as much as Lavi. “How’ve you been?”

“Stressing over tests. But how would you know? You finished your career a year sooner than you were supposed to!” He took a seat next to them, not commenting on their position: he had grown used to seeing them sitting like that pretty much everywhere that wasn’t public.

Allen shrugged, obviously cheeky about it. “You finished, then?”

“Yeah. We are on a break from today until next Wednesday.” He sighed, resting his head on the table. “Have you seen Wisely?” He questioned.

“He said he’d come right before dinner.” Road replied, smiling at her brother-in-law. “He had some issues to solve before coming.” She handed her notebook to Lavi so he could check it out.

“Ok. Let me see your arm.” Nalei said and Allen extended it, letting him roll the sleeve up. “I told you that if you don’t use the cream it’s going to leave a scar.”

Allen rolled his eyes, obviously not caring about it. “It be cool if you had a scar.” Lavi said trailing the fading cut with his fingertips. “It’d make you look even more badass.”

“Right? Now you have to tell  _ him _ ” he pointed at his best friend. “that. He keeps saying I should use the bloody cream.” 

Nalei groaned and hit his head against the table. “You two are insufferable sometimes.” Allen patted his head mockingly before moving to kiss Lavi on the lips.

“So you’d still fuck me if I was scarred?” He questioned, mumbling against his lips.

And the dark, lusty haze that covered Lavi’s green eye for a moment, made Allen shiver slightly, almost unnoticeable for the other people around him, but Lavi felt it. 

“Oh yeah I would. Most definitely.” He moved closer to him, his lips touching his ears. “We still have a bet to play, don’t we sweetheart?” He sneaked his hand under the table and squeezed his cock and balls, kissing his neck before biting down.

Allen chuckled and nodded before wiggling a bit and making sure to press his ass on his lover’s crotch. “That we do bunny. That we do.”

“Hey guys.” They all turned around to see Mai come in. “Hey eyepatch, long time no see.”

“You saw me last week pixie.” Lavi rebated, arching an eyebrow and the girl rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, I had Neah on the phone, he said him and Cross are dropping by to have lunch with us.” She said.

“Tell Tora and Jazz that.” Road said. “And how come they’re coming? He never comes on work days.” She questioned.

“I don’t know. He said they had to tell us something.” She replied, looking over her sister’s shoulder. “Latin?”

“Yeah, Lavi’s helping me.” 

“And of course you know Latin.” She said, punching him on the shoulder before strolling into the kitchen. “Hey guys, Cross and Neah are having lunch with us today.”

“How come?” Toraido questioned, arching an eyebrow and the girl shrugged before snatching a piece of smoked salmon. “Well, we’ll just have to set two more plates out. And now shoo!” He pushed his sister out of the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

When she went back, Wisely was there, kissing his boyfriend on the lips, softly, as Lavi helped Road with her Latin and Allen typed on his phone, frowning. Upon noticing his look, the ginger turned to him and kissed his cheek, mumbling something to which Allen shook his head before smiling at him.

They just looked so cute together. And the fact that Lavi was able to comprehend Allen so well and so deeply just stunned her because her brother was just so fucking difficult to understand sometimes, his train of thought was weird as hell, finding logic in things that no one else thought about. 

And the same went for Nalei and Wisely. They were more reserved than the other two, they would only kiss and cuddle in public, even within the family, they had never just made out or talked about sex like the other two, but the fact that Nalei was able to make Wisely  _ do _ things like walking, go shopping or simply go to a restaurant instead of staying in his room and sleep was an impressive feat. And he made him laugh and smile more.

“Hello dears.” They all turned around to see Sheryl and Tricia and Maashima come in. “How’s everything?” He kissed Road’s cheek, humming at her work. 

“Is Lavi helping you again?” Tricia asked, smiling at both her and the redhead.

“Yeah!” She grinned before going back to it.

They sat down at their places on the table, the lawyer’s eyes scanning the room: Devi was watching the tellie with Skin and now Maashima, Fiidora was reading by the fire and next to him there was Lulu who was talking with Mimi, judging by her soft smile. Toraido and Jazz were in the kitchen, Allen and Wisely were by the table: the former sitting on his boyfriend’s lap and the latter by his side, talking softly. Road was still doing her homework. 

“Where’s Tyki?” He questioned as soon as he realised who was the one missing.

Allen looked up to him. “He wasn’t feeling good and he asked me to take over the Poker. That reminds me, Devi can you…?” The dark haired twin wasn’t listening to him, he didn’t even seem to have heard him. “Devi. Devi!” His eyebrow twitched. “You stupid bastard!” He took the nearest thing he found in his hand and threw it at him.

“The fuck was that for?” He yelled, turning around and glaring at the younger albino.

“For not listening to me, you twat. I need you to take over DJ tonight, I’ll run the Poker, I’ll keep Jazzy there with me.”

“How come? And didn’t Neah forbid you to even go in there?” Devitto questioned, sitting back down.

“Tyki isn’t feeling well. And uncle forbid me to go in there unless it was necessary and given that half of you don’t even know how to play poker and the other half couldn’t spot someone cheating to save their life, I’m the only possible option.” Allen argued.

“Wait, if you are the only one who knows how to play cards besides Tyki, why are you banned from there?” Lavi questioned.

“Because while Tyki is really good he doesn’t know all the tricks so he doesn’t always catch them, Al, on the other hand, knows all the tricks so he always sees them which means we get to keep all the money, but the clients are upset and angry at us for not letting them win.”

“Well, sorry for making us not lose money!” Allen exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air and making everyone around him laugh.

Lavi had wrapped his arms around his waist and hid his face on his back, muffling his laughter.

“What’s so funny?” They all turned around and saw Cross arching an eyebrow and walking to his son, kissing his head softly and receiving a beaming smile. He then squeezed Lavi on the shoulder before moving to greet all of the others around.

“Allen and poker.” Road replied. “Tyki is sick so he’ll be taking over Poker tonight.”

“Good, maybe we won’t lose a single penny tonight.” He said.

“See? Someone agrees with me!” The DJ exclaimed.

“Of course he would agree with you!” Fiidora replied. 

“What’s all this ruckus about?” Neah questioned as he stepped in, hanging his coat by the door.

“Al is taking over Poker tonight.” Road announced once again.

“And Tyki?” He was looking at his nephew, who merely shrugged.

“He’s sick and asked me to fill in for him, Devi will take over on DJ.” He explained. “I’ll keep Jazz with me, just in case.”

“Alright. Just… let them win. At least once.”

He pursed his lips, obviously not happy with that decision, but he nodded anyway.

“Hey, start setting the table!” Toraido yelled, opened the door. “Oh, hi Neah, hi Cross.”

“Good evening Tora.” 

* * *

They had been eating, their usual multiple conversations filling the room but everyone shushed when Neah held his hand up, everyone turning to see him.

“I have a couple of things to announce. First, I’ll be leaving for a tour in Europe in three weeks, you guys run the club as usual, alright? Anything happens you call Cross or handle it yourself. You know the rules: I want no fights inside the club, no drug dealing and no drink-slipping. Don’t break anything and if you do, you pay it out of your own pocket. I want everything as it is right now when I come back.”

“Nea, they’ve been running this for years, I think they know it by now.” Cross said, patting his hand.

“Right, right. Second thing: I finally found someone to join Lulu at the bar. He’s has zero experience on being a barman, so you are going to have to teach him everything from scratch.” She nodded: she liked fresh meat, she could teach them as she wanted, make sure everything they did was how she told them.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t trust anyone that much to let them in our family?” Wisely questioned, looking at him. 

“I did. Which is why I chose the one person I knew I could trust. Someone we all know. As a matter of fact, he is sitting with us right now.” And at that, they all turned to Lavi, knowing that it was him, because Nalei had enough trouble with his studies and Tricia couldn’t work at the bar as it could be exhausting. Also, Neah didn’t know Nalei well enough to let him in like that.

Lavi was looking down, fumbling with the hand Allen had resting on his knee. It was not that he was afraid of not being accepted, he knew he was. They all had told him to join them at the club in those eight months of dating Allen. He knew he was wanted, but he was feeling embarrassed at being presented like that.

“That’s awesome!” Road and the twins exclaimed before reaching out for him to pat him on the shoulder, the rest of them doing the same, congratulating him: Tricia hugged him tenderly, almost like a mother would.

When everyone sat down again, Allen reached for him and kissed him on the lips, his black hand tangling on the red hair and Lavi responded by wrapping his arm around his waist. “Congratulations.” The albino whispered.

“Thank you.” 

It was then that Fiidora noticed something on them. “Are you… Are you wearing matching bracelets?” He questioned as he grabbed Allen’s wrist to check it up. “You are not a Leo. Wait, are you wearing each other’s signs?”

“Yeap! He got them for us today.” He explained, letting his brother move his arm as he wanted to see it and letting the next one do the same. He spotted Lulu, Tora and Mai doing the same with Lavi.

Cross smiled behind his glass of wine as he watched his son laugh. He had never seen him happier than right now, and he had feared that Allen would just screw it up by not giving Lavi all the attention he deserved, but he did and now they were just another perfect couple in the family.

They finished their meals and Lulu and Sheryl started to unset the table as Wisely and Maitora went to wash the dishes and the pots.

Lavi had left Allen by the table as he went to talk with Lulu about their teaching lessons and truth be told, she seemed as excited as he was, but in a cooler manner and since everyone else seemed to be busy, Allen had just started playing cards by himself.

“You are cheating.” Cross said, sitting next to him.

“Of course. I’m not going to lose against myself.” He grinned as he flipped another card before putting it back into the stack of cards in his hand and the redhead had no doubt that it was in the place that card had to be to finish the game. “When are you going to ask him?” He had switched to Gaelic to make sure no one understood them.

“And you  _ had _ to bring it up.” Cross growled and the albino sighed, putting the deck of cards down.

“You’ve had that ring for over an year. I’ve been with Lavi for a year, if we count when we were just sleeping together and you already had it and you’re stalling to ask him.”

“And?”

“I just don’t know what you are waiting for! He loves you, he’d marry you right now if you asked, he’d drop about everything for you!” He wasn’t yelling, but his slightly too loud voice was starting to gain them looks. “You gave up on him already and it took you forever to even work up the guts to ask him out again. You only did that after the accident. And you  _ knew _ from before he wasn’t with Adam anymore.”

“Allen, it’s more difficult than that.”

“It’s not and you know it. Are you two having trouble? Is that why you won’t ask him?”

“What? No. No.” Cross sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose, taking his glasses off. “I just want to make sure everyone has somewhat settled down before I ask him.”

“Oh dad…” He hugged him. “We are all fine. We have settled down. Tricia and Sheryl are fine. Lulu and Mimi, too. Wise and Nal are in cloud nine with each other. The twins and Krory will end up moving together in probably just a few months. And Lavi and I practically live together by now.”

“What about Tyki and the baker?” He questioned, arching an eyebrow.

“About that... I don’t think they were right for each other.” He simply stated and the University Professor understood that whatever had happened, he had no say in and that Allen would not talk about it.

“Alright. Just make sure he is ok.” The albino nodded before getting back at his game. “I’ll ask him before he leaves, alright?”

“Sounds awesome.” He smirked at him, knowing that he had accomplished what he had decided to do.

“Alright everyone, time to open the doors! Allen, you start at 12.30!” Neah yelled and everyone rose besides Tricia, Road and Allen. And Lavi only did so to go sit besides his boyfriend.

“Everything alright?” He questioned.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I was just making him see sense.” He replied as he drew another card. “What did you and Lulu agree on?”

“I’ll come here before lunch and she’ll teach me.” Lavi answered. “How come you start later than the others?”

“They are the VIP, so they usually come in later.” He explained. “I need to go get changed. Wait here.” He winked at him before going up to his room.

“Okay…?” And so he waited, slightly confused as he looked at the girls, who chatting about Doctor Who. God, they  _ loved _ that show in England.

A few minutes later, Allen came down, tying his hair. “Oh wow Al! You cleaned up nicely!” Road whistled and Tricia even nodded in agreement.

Lavi was just staring at him. Allen had changed his clothes: black leather shoes, black trousers, a white button-down fitted inside his pants, a black vest and a ribbon tied around his neck and one tying his ponytail.

“Fuck. You look so good right now.” He drawled, standing up and going next to him.

“Really?” The albino replied slyly, wrapping his arms around his shoulders.

“Yeah. You should dress like that more often, it really does look good on you.” He told him, his voice softening as he cupped his face and Allen smiled sweetly before kissing him. “But why the change of clothes?”

“Uncle wants the dealers to be dressed properly.” He simply replied. “If I showed dressed like this afternoon, he’d have killed me.” 

Well, it did make sense since their clients were VIP, Lavi thought. “And I hadn’t seen them before because…?”

“No reason, really. I used to wear them when Cross and I visited somebody so they were at the back of my wardrobe, but if you get us reservations at a fancy restaurant after your first salary here, I promise you I’ll dress like that.”

“Why Allen D. Marian-Campbell, are you asking me out on a date? Because you’ve got a very strange way of doing so.” He questioned flirtingly.

“Does it work?”

“If it’s you, it’ll always work.” The ginger replied before kissing his head and resting his chin there. “I don’t think I’ll be able to stay awake too long love.”

“That’s fine, you can go to sleep whenever you feel like, I’ll wake you up when I’m done with those posh people so you can go give your resignation letter.” He replied, kissing his neck.

“Yeah. We can go back at the apartment and sleep there if you like.”

“Sounds awesome. Want to do something after sleeping?” He asked.

“Not really, we can just stay at home until we have to come here.” The redhead replied. “Don’t you have to work on that new piece for your uncle?” Allen nodded. “Well, then you work on it and I’ll organise my room and sort out my books… Would it be fine if I brought some here?”

“Of course, I told you, it’s your room too.” Lavi smiled against his stark white hair.

“Thank you.” Allen shook his head and held him tighter.

* * *

He hated that kind of people, that’s why he usually tried to play poker in the red district, people there didn’t care about appearances and bet on every single hand. And of course, he could cheat them out of their clothes.

“Hit.” The black woman said and Allen it slid it across the table, before turning it.

They had decided that instead of poker, they would like to play Blackjack. Not because they had gotten bored of the game, but because they had heard of Allen. Everyone who knew anything about card games had heard of him: the white haired guy with a tattoo on his face that knew every trick in the book. It was rumoured that he even invented some of them. There was no way they were risking their money with him, blackjack was easy to cheat on, you just had to count cards and make sure no one noticed. Not even the dealer. Or the bouncer behind them.

“Split.” The elder man said and Allen slit a card face-up. “Hit.”

“Busted.” Allen said before he drew another card for the next set.

“Hit.” He drew another card. “Stand.”

“Al.” Jazz suddenly called and pointed at the other lady in the room, who apparently had decided to spy on his neighbour’s hand.

“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to leave.” Allen said, taking her hand away and putting on his right.

“And on the account of what?”

“Of spying on Mr. Ray’s cards and counting.” He stated and smiled in his head when he saw the woman squint her eyes at him. 

“Do you really think Mr. Campbell is going to believe you? You may work here, but everyone knows you are a cheater, everyone knows you. I’m not sure he’d believe you instead of me.” Allen snorted as Jasdero giggled. “What’s so funny?”

“Ma’am, every single worker in here was adopted by Neah. We are adoptive siblings. Plus, he is my uncle.” She paled a bit and Jasdero pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning.

“And he’d believe Allen before anyone else when it comes down to cheating. He isn’t usually allowed in here because he would catch you all the time and then you’d always leave.” The blond explained, giggling before grabbing her by her arm and leading her outside through the back door, the woman too stunned to even attempt to reply and just followed him around. She also knew that although the blond guy looked petite and somewhat fragile, he was stronger than he seemed. “And don’t come back!!” He waved at her before slamming the door.

“Sorry for the interruption, we may proceed.” Allen said before he turned to a man on his thirties.

* * *

“I seriously don’t get how does Tyki even put up with those snobs.” Allen growled as he handed Lulu a couple of glasses from a nearby table.

“Well, he is better mannered than you.” She pointed out. “I heard you kicked someone out?”

“Lady, she was looking at the other one’s cards, so yeah, I told her to leave, Jazz made sure to show her the door.”

“Neah is going to kill you.”

“We would have lost 3 people instead of one if they caught her doing it and me doing nothing about it.” Allen reasoned, shrugging. “Hey Lulu.” She hummed in response. “You are ok with teaching Lavi, right?” Lulu put the glass down and leaned over the counter and smacked him across the head. “Hey!”

“If you don’t want to be smacked, don’t ask such stupid questions. I’m thrilled that he is the one Neah chose. Not only because he is already part of the family and I know he won’t get in trouble with anyone but because he probably knows how to do most of the drinks already.”

“Huh? You’ve been teaching him already?” He questioned, confused.

“No, no. I meant that he’s been watching me do the same drinks over and over for more than a year now.”

“Oh…” He had a tendency of forgetting that Lavi had, in fact, spent a lot of time around Lulu on work days as he waited for his friends or let him do his job before joining him upstairs in the study. 

Lulu shook her head and nudged him on the shoulder. “Go to sleep, c’mon.”

“Oh, we are actually going to the newspaper so he can give them his resignation letter. I so want to see their faces, we’ll go to bed after that.” He told her.

“Well, then have fun. But I’d need him to come here around 6.30pm.” She said and the albino nodded. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

He went upstairs and sat down next to Lavi, kissing his cheek. “Wake up love.” He mumbled and the ginger only mumbled, turning around which made Allen chuckled. “Seriously bunny, you need to wake up to hand in that letter.”

“Five more minutes.” Lavi groaned.

“Sorry, but if we wait for five more minutes I’ll fall asleep.” Allen mumbled.

“Ok, ok…” He sat up and stretched, moaning. “Morning sweetheart.” He said before dropping a kiss on his lips


	14. Chapter 14

“Ok, ok…” He sat up and stretched, moaning. “Morning sweetheart.” He said before dropping a kiss on his lips . “Are you sure you want to come? You look like you’ll drop dead at any moment.”

The younger shook his head. “Wanna see it. I’ll have a coffee.” 

“As you wish.” He stood up and went to the bathroom to make his hair look somewhat presentable.

After he had slipped into fresh clothes they went downstairs and made two quick coffee’s, saying their goodbye’s to those still in the club before going to the parking lot.

“Al, keys?”

“I’m driving.” The albino said and Lavi rolled his eyes before taking them from his fingers.

“Like hell you are. You look like you are a zombie, so no chance I’m letting you drive.” He told him, frowning: he had expected his boyfriend to be more sensitive about driving in that condition. “And it’s a 40 minute ride, so you can sleep for a bit or rest your eyes.”

“Okay…” At least he didn’t fight him about it. Allen kissed his lips before entering the car and curling into a ball after fastening his seatbelt.

“And you said you wanted to drive.” Lavi chuckled and the musician offered his a weak eyeroll. “Sleep.” He switched the heat on and covered him with his jacket: he had long realised that Allen  _ hated _ being cold. Maybe it was a reminder of his time on the streets, he didn’t know.

Allen nodded and closed his eyes, the coffee not doing much effect on him.

Lavi drove in silence and with as much care as he could muster to make sure he didn’t wake his lover up. When he arrived and parked, he sat there for a few minutes, thinking and letting his new condition of barman take over him. 

And the feeling of liberty he felt when he thought he would never have to come back there and put up with the jokes was the best thing in the world. The only thing that ever felt better was when Allen said he loved him.

“Are we there?” He looked down and saw Allen staring at him through hazy eyes.

“Yes. I was just thinking.”

“Everything alright?”

“Of course love.” He smiled and put a strand of white hair behind his ear. “I’m just having a bit of a hard time on believing that I will never have to come back here and that I’ll be able to see you everyday.” He put his arms on the wheel and rested his head there.

“I know, I’ve been wrapping this around my head the whole night, too.” He sat up and stretched, his eyes still hazy with sleep. “Can we go in now? I want to sleep.”

“Of course babe.” Lavi laughed and stepped out of the car, rounding it and opening the car for Allen, who was struggling with his jacket. “Come here.” He pulled him out of the car and zipped the jacket up, dropping a kiss on his mouth. “Let’s go.”

They walked holding hands, Allen brushing his knuckles in a calming way. When they reached the entrance a couple minutes later he breathed deeply before checking his ID card at the entrance and the doors opened. 

Lavi watched his boyfriend with amusement: Allen was looking at everything as if he had never seen it before. Though it probably was because of the lack of sleep.

“Here, love.” He said as he tugged him through another door, They barely crossed the door when an enraged man stomped towards him. 

“Bookman! How dare you show your face at this time? You knew your article had to fill a whole page and you never turned it in!” Lavi trembled slightly and Allen squeezed his hand, softly. “And who the fuck is that?” He pointed at the albino, who only glared at him. 

“My boyfriend.” Lavi replied and the musician felt weirdly proud of him for confronting his boss. “And there’s a reason as to why I didn’t turn that shitty article you gave me. Two, actually.”

“Don’t you have them excuses always?” Richard yelled from the other side of the room.

“Wasn’t it your fault in the first place you little piece of shit?” Lavi bellowed and everyone jumped and stared at him, surprised at his outburst.

“How dare you, you disgusting faggot?”

“I’m not the one going after a senior licking their boots, now am I?” Lavi snarled and Allen couldn’t help but look at him with new eyes: he had always thought of Lavi as someone gentle that wouldn’t hurt a fly, but just now he was showing a new whole hidden side of him and damn if it wasn’t the hottest thing he had seen in awhile.

“Shut up! Both of you!” The boss yelled and they did, but Lavi posture didn’t change. He was tense, but somehow he still looked laid back. “And you Bookman, get to your fucking table right now and start typing away.”

“Yeah sorry. Not gonna do that.” He smirked and Allen couldn’t help but to smile smugly beside him. “You see, I’m not here to work.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m quitting. I found a better job at a better place, so I don’t need to stay in this hellhole any longer.” Lavi said and the albino squeezed his hand.

“You are just 24, where in the world would someone in their right mind hire you?” The man snarled, rolling his eyes.

“Ever heard of Noah’s Ark? It’s a club in the wealthy area.” Lavi started, as if he was talking to someone stupid or a kid. “Apparently they need a barman, and I got the job.”

“Boy, don’t lie to me. I know Neah Campbell first hand and he would never hire someone who has never worked as a barman for his club.” Well, the man was right: Neah wouldn’t do that.

“True,” he conceded. “But the fact I’m going out with the DJ who just happens to be one of his children and his boyfriend’s adoptive son plus the fact I have three careers, does give me the edge over everyone else. And of course, there’s also the fact that I have spent enough time there to know my way around.”

“His… son?” All eyes were now trained on Allen, who didn’t even bat an eye. “You are Neah Campbell’s son?”

“One of them, yes. I mean, there’s thirteen of us. Well, ten guys and three girls.” He drawled, his voice laced with sleep, but it was easy to misread as boredom. “I’m Allen D. Marian-Campbell, main DJ of Noah’s Ark.”

Lavi chuckled next to him as he retrieved the letter out of his pocket and gave it to his soon-to-be ex-boss. “Well, that is it. I’ll be taking my leave now.” He simply said before turning around, tugging the albino. “Let’s go, love, we have nothing else to do in this hellhole.” He smiled at him and kissed his lips.

There was silence for a few seconds until a third voice, angry and dripping venom shouted. “How dare you do such blasphemy in public? If it weren’t enough that you are like that, you have to do it in public? Where everyone can see you? What if there were kids around? You’d corrupt them!” 

Allen frowned and turned around, glaring at the man before he started to  _ look _ at him. He was like a wardrobe: tall and big. A big, thick mustache sitting on top of his lip, he had little to no hair on his head anymore, his eyes were glassy and clear and they reminded him of those of a dead fish. He had a wedding band on his finger, but it looked tattered and dirty, unlike his watch, that shone under the office’s lights. He was wearing black pants with a light-blue shirt and a black tie.

“Hm… Mind if we stay for a couple of more minutes, babe?” He questioned, looking up to a green eye.

“Uh… Sure?” Whatever Allen had in mind, he did not know, but he surely wasn’t going to take the fun away from him.

“You have a problem with gays, mate?” He questioned and Lavi shivered in delight when he heard the low, cutting, cold voice: when they were at the Hospital he looked menacing, but now that he was still dressed from his Poker session, he looked even better, like a true mobster. “Because one would think that after one of your kids turned out to be gay, you’d be a little more open-minded.” He said and everyone gaped: Johanson had a gay kid?

“What are you talking about? I don’t have any gay kid! I’d kill them before letting anyone else know such a disgrace ruined my name!”

“Makes sense. That would explain why you are sleeping with someone else. Your wife has a depression, does she not? Probably because you kicked your son... “ he squinted his eyes at him before humming. “Sorry,  _ daughter _ , out of your house a few years back. About three sounds right?” He nodded, smirking. “And of course, your other two children wouldn’t agree with you so they are not speaking to you, now are they?”

“How do you know…?”

“Shut it. I’m not done. That woman you are sleeping with… Is someone from this very newspaper… A woman who feels neglected because she is much better qualified than her husband, but he is the one who has the better job, so she needs some submissive little shit like you to vent her frustrations out, huh?” Lavi was trying not to laugh, he really was, but the face Johanson was making was hilarious: his small eyes were big and round now, his lips quivering and he was sweating profusely, his hands clenching and unclenching as he dried them on his trousers and looked at Allen terrified. Totally scared for everything his lover was just spitting and Lavi knew, at that moment, that everything the albino had been saying was the truth and he realised why the doctor had been so scared of him, because with just once glance he could have you all figured out.

“I am not…”

“But you are.” He was not letting him finish his sentences, and that was frustrating the man to no end, Lavi knew. “And… it wouldn’t be  _ his _ wife, would it?” He pointed at the boss. “I mean, it would be pretty bad if he knew his wife had been cheating on him with such an asshole like you… Not that he is much better, mind you, but you are just one of the worst.” He then turned around and walked to his boyfriend. “We can leave now babe. I’ve done my job.”

“I can see that.” He drawled as he pulled the albino to him and kissed him, his eye focused on Johanson,  _ daring  _ him to say anything.

He didn’t.

“Well, it certainly has  _ not _ been a pleasure to meet y’all.” Lavi said as he wrapped an arm around Allen’s waist and led him outside, hearing yells and threats come out of the room they had just walked away.

Once they were by the car, he pressed Allen against the door and ravished him, ripping a low moan from him.

“What…?” Silver eyes looked at him, tired and confused.

“Sorry love. You were just so hot in there I couldn’t help myself.” The ginger replied, his voice slightly musky, but his eyes were soft and loving when he brushed a silver strand from his face. “Let’s go to sleep?” The musician simply nodded, all the tiredness coming back to him at once. “Get in, c’mon.”

He curled again into a ball and Lavi covered him again with his jacket. He didn’t fall asleep, knowing he’d have to walk, but he wasn’t there with Lavi either.

Once in Lavi’s room, the elder helped him into his pyjama pants and he himself changed his clothes again, climbing after the albino had taken his place on the wall side, and as soon as he felt that the green-eyed was under the covers too, he curled up against him.

“Night. Love you.” And after that he was out like a light.

“Love you too.” He kissed his head and closed his eyes to sleep once more. He cuddled his boyfriend closer to him, all the events of the last 24 hours washing over him and leaving him feeling as light as a feather and with no worries over his shoulder.

* * *

He woke up feeling slightly cold, even if he had the comforter neatly wrapped around him. His eyes flicked at the clock on the wall. 14.56.

“Bunny?” He called out, sitting up.

“Yes love?” He opened the door, toweling his hair dry. He sat down next to him and kissed his lips. 

“Nothing. Just wondering where you were.” He smiled and snuggled down on the bed, only his nose and eyes visible. Lavi snickered at him.

“You can be so cute sometimes. Are you hungry?” Allen nodded. “I was thinking pancakes and orange juice.”

“Sounds awesome. And tea.”

“Of course. You coming with me or do you want to have breakfast in bed?”

“Kitchen. I don’t like eating in bed. It’s gross.” He drawled. “Call me when it’s done?” The redhead nodded and left, leaving him alone in bed.

Twenty minutes later, Lavi stepped into the room and couldn’t help but smile fondly upon seeing him curled up once more. He wasn’t sleeping though, he could tell by his breathing pace and his eye movements.

“Kitten, breakfast is ready, and if you don’t hurry the pancakes will be cold.”

“I like them cold, too.”

“Ugh, I love you and everything, but  _ that _ is disgusting.” He pulled him out of the bed and kissed him.

“You know nothing about pancakes, then.” Allen rebated as his arms circled his waist. “Good morning.” He mumbled against his chest.

“Good morning.” He kissed his head and pulled back. “Let’s go.”

They sat down and Lavi served them and poured the orange juice and the tea for his lover as he sipped on his mug of coffee. “Don’t you need your computer to work on the composition?” He questioned after eating a pancake.

“Not really. I just need music paper.” The albino replied. “Is there any store nearby that sells it?”

“Maybe the bookstore on the corner? I wouldn’t know, I never needed it.”

Allen hummed as he chewed down on his last bit of pancake. “I’ll take a shower and go check it out.”

“Alright. I’ll come with you, I want to buy a couple more books.”

“More!?” He exclaimed, laughing. “At this rate your room will be a library!”

“I’ll bring them to your house, then.” He simply said and Allen choked on his juice. “Hey!” He patted him on the back, gently. “What’s gotten into you?”

Allen stared at him for a few seconds before looking down. “You said my house… not the club,  _ my house. _ ” He repeated.

“Oh. I-is it not okay with you…?”

“What? No! I’d love it if you started to leave some of your stuff in my house.” He smiled and stood up, kissing his cheek. “If I asked you to come live with me… what would you say?” He questioned.

Lavi looked at him and considered it: he would love it, of course he would. To wake up next to him everyday and to fall asleep holding him, but he was very aware that they hadn’t even hit the 1-year mark on dating, so that really only left him with one answer.

“I’d say that I love the idea but to wait some more time before we do move in together.” He replied, taking his hands. “Don’t get me wrong love, I do want and plan to live together with you for the rest of my life, but just not yet.” He looked up into whirling silver pools of emotion. “Are you mad at me?”

Allen chuckled before kissing him on the lips. “Nah, I feel the same way. I just wanted to know where we really stood.” 

“Well, I’m glad we are on the same page, then.” Lavi stood up and put his dish on the sink. “Go get showered, c’mon.”

“Yes daddy.” He smirked and smacked him on the ass before leaving. “I’ll take one of your towels bunny!” He called out.

“Yeah, yeah…”

* * *

Once they had their books and paper they went back to the apartment, Allen taking a seat on the sofa and Lavi going to his room, cleaning duster and broom in hand. They didn’t interact much during the day, Lavi being the one to kiss his head every time he stepped out. He even ended up tying his lover’s long hair in a high bun to prevent it to slip into his eyes.

“You done?” Allen asked when Lavi slumped next to him around 3 hours later.

“Yeah. I’m beaten.” He said as he rested his head against his shoulder. “And you?”

“I just need to finish the last movement and I’m done.” He explained, setting the papers down on the table and moving to kiss his boyfriend on the lips.

“Will you play it for me?” He questioned. 

“Of course.” He kissed him again, this time with a more intent and sitting on his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. 

Lavi smiled in the kiss and sneaked his hands to his rear and squeezed, making Allen groan. They kept kissing and the redhead started to knead the flesh beneath his hand.

“Lavi…” Allen sighed against his lips as he went to kiss his neck.

“Mh?”

“Bed.” The albino moaned softly when his half-hard cock pressed against Lavi’s hip.

“We haven’t done it here yet.” Lavi replied, not wanting to move.

“Neither we have on your bed.” Allen rebated, arching an eyebrow.

And it was true, every time they had sex was either at the club or at Allen’s house. Lavi didn’t reply to that, so he just kissed him again, his tongue sweeping his mouth, munching softly on his lip.

“I did  _ not _ fucking need to see this.” A voice said from the door and the musician groaned, as he looked behind him.

“And I did not need to see your face, BaKanda, and yet here I am.” He rolled off Lavi’s lap and sat back at the spot he had previously being occupying. 

“It’s my house, moyashi. If you don’t want to see me, you know where the door is. You’d do me a favour if you just fucking left.”

Allen scoffed at that and stretched, resting an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Sorry, but I’m not going anywhere yet.” 

“Can you two please try and  _ pretend _ to get along in front of me?”

“Sorry bunny.” He kissed him on the lips and smiled at him, tucking a strand of red hair behind his ear.

“Yeah, no problem.” He smiled back and looked at his best friend. “Yuu, sit down, I have something to tell you.” Kanda frowned, but took a sit on the armchair.

“Something happened at work?” He questioned, his eyes flicking towards the albino before going back to Lavi, but they both simply shrugged.

“You could say so. Nothing bad though! It’s just that… we’ll be seeing each other even less during the week.”

“Did they finally change your shift?” He leaned a bit to them, resting his elbows on his knees. Lavi licked his lips before shaking his head. “Then?”

“I… I quitted. I found a new job.” He announced beaming. “But it’s a night shift so I’ll be sleeping during the day. If I even come.”

Night shift? Quitting the newspaper? Not coming to sleep? It wasn’t hard to figure what he was hinting. “The club? Is it true?” He looked at Allen, who nodded, smiling.

“We needed a barman and uncle didn’t want someone from outside working with us so when Lavi asked me if I was serious about him working with us, we went to see uncle and he was thrilled with the idea.” He simply replied, taking his lover’s hand and brushing his knuckles. 

“And I start on Monday.” Lavi finished. “Lulu is going to train me during the day.”

He felt relieved. To know that his best friend was finally free of the nightmare his life had been... Sure, it had gotten better when he met Allen. He had been smiling more, laughing more and he would be his usual joking self. And then the beating happened. He had feared that he’d go back to being just an empty shell of who he really was. He had feared Allen would just leave him alone, abandon him like his parents had. But the moyashi didn’t. He had stayed, he had nursed him back to health and Lavi came back happier than he had ever been. And now he had this, a chance to do something he would love, something new and by the hand of his boyfriend who, much to Kanda’s own reluctance, seemed to adore him and worship the soil the redhead walked on.

He stood up and crossed the space that separated them. “Yuu…?” Lavi arched an eyebrow, slightly confused.

He bowed and hugged him lightly, he still had a reputation to uphold as the resident asshole. Lavi only shook his head before hugging back, but he did put a bit more force in it. 

Allen rolled his eyes at them and fished his vibrating phone out, answering a text from Tora about dinner. And just as he looked up again, he saw the Japanese looking at him as he mouthed something.

Something that he was sure was ‘Thank you’. He only nodded in return, closing his eyes for a second before Kanda let go of the ex-reporter.

“Bunny, we should get going.” He told him, smiling.

“Already?”

“Yeah babe, you are on dinner duty and I’m on setting the table.” he explained as he stood up, stretching.

“Alright. Give us a moment?” Lavi requested.

“Of course. I need to call dad anyway.” He kissed him on the cheek and went out on the balcony as he dialled Cross number.

“You are happy.” Kanda pointed out, sitting down on the spot Allen left empty.

“Of course.” He grinned, his eyes slipping to watch his boyfriend talk with his father, playing with a strand of his untied white hair. “I… I never thought that this day would come.” He confessed.

“Did you ever even look for another job?” Kanda questioned, but he had been wondering, thinking. Lavi had 3 careers and spoke more languages than he needed too. He could be working as anything related to any of his fields and yet he always said none of the places he had left his resume called him.

“No.” He said. “I was afraid. The newspaper was the only thing I knew and I was scared that the next place was going to be worst, so I stayed. I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“So am I. But you could have told me about it. I would have helped.”

“You are busy enough with your studies, I didn’t want to trouble you. And when I met Al things got better. Even with…  _ that _ in the way.” He shook his head, not wanting to remember what happened to him a few months back. “He asked me to move in some day. Not just yet, though. You’ll have to put up with me for some more time.”

The Japanese smirked at that. “I think I’ll be able to manage. I’m happy for you, you know that, right?”

“Of course Yuu.” He smiled sweetly and Allen entered, wringing his hands together. “Cold, kitten?”

“Hell yeah.” He smiled before standing next to him. “Ready yet?”

“Yeah babe. Just let me get a coat.” He stood up and went to his room, coming back with his jacket and a coat for his lover. “See you around Yuu.”

“Yeah.” He walked them to the door and smiled when Lavi took a hold of his lover’s hands to warm them up. “I hope I won’t see your face anymore moyashi.”

“Same here BaKanda.” He closed the door, smirking. “What?” He questioned when he saw Lavi shaking his head in resignation.

“Nothing love.” He kissed him on the lips. “Let’s go.”

* * *

As soon as they arrived, Maashima came and pretty much kidnapped Lavi into the kitchen, so Allen just walked upstairs and slipped into his brother’s room. “Hey.” He sat down next to Tyki, kissing his cheek.

“Hey.” He smiled sadly.

“How are you holding up? Think you can go to the poker station?” He questioned. “You know I don’t mind taking your place, but Neah is going to chop my head off if I kick another one out.”

The Portuguese chuckled. “Whom did you kick?”

“Ehh… Woman. In her late 40, dresses up like a teen?”

“You kicked out Ms. Maytown?” Allen shrugged, he didn’t know her name. “She’s going to be sooo pissed. Why did you kick her out?”

“Eavesdropping. And I have Jazz to back me up.” He replied. “Anyway, how are you?”

Tyki shrunk a bit on himself. “I just… I just don’t understand. If he wasn’t even interested in me, why would he say he was?”

“There’s people who like to hurt others just because of the fun of it, Tyki.” He replied. “I like beating people, be it at cards or physically. Dad likes to humiliate them. And then there’s the ones who like to give hope to other to then just snatch it away.” He smiled sadly and patted him on the hand. “You’ll find someone right for you, you’ll see.”

“I don’t…”

“Want anybody else. I get that. Been there, done that, got over it.” He stood up and kissed his head. “You up for Poker?”

“Yeah. Can’t stay hauled up in here forever anyway. And I guess it’ll be better if I can occupy myself with something else.”

Allen nodded and pulled him up. “Let’s go downstairs, your brother must be freaking out if he hasn’t seen you yet.” Tyki sighed and followed him, but he stopped the albino before they got out by grabbing his arm. “What?”

“Just wanted to thank you for checking up on me.”

Allen sighed, kneading his temples. “Tyki, I’ve told you, you are my brother, I care and love you, of course I’d check up on you.” He smiled. “You would also check up on me, right?”

“Of course.”

“So really, no need to thank me.”

“Where’s Lavi?” He questioned, changing the topic.

“Kitchen. Lunch’s shift.” He replied. “Oh, hey Tricia.” He smiled when he pretty much ran into the woman, her hand up and in a fist, obviously about to knock.

“Hello dears. Tyki, your brother is looking for you.” She smiled and he nodded before slipping past them. “So, how happy are you to work alongside your boyfriend?” She questioned, a devious glint in her eyes; the look of a true Slytherin.

“Why do you ask if you already know the answer?” He replied, linking his hands at the back of his head.

“Just making sure. I’m happy for you. And for him. This is where he belongs.” She said and patted his arm. “Now, let’s go downstairs, you and I have to start setting the table.”

“Yes ma’am!” He grinned and followed her downstairs.

* * *

The first few days had been nerve-wracking, he was worried that he was going to mess up and poison someone by accident and that all of them would turn their backs on him. But he hadn’t killed anyone and Lulu seemed to be happy with his skills so after the first week he calmed down a bit.

And of course, the fact Allen was always there ready to drop a kiss on his face or hug him just made it all better. Road and him were studying: she was doing some of her French homework as Lavi studied once again all the concoctions Lulu had given him to learn.

He felt Allen drop a kiss on his head to catch his attention. “I’m off to the gym bunny.”

Lavi looked up and smiled, reaching back and pushing his lover’s head down so he could kiss him, slowly, his tongue slipping into his lover’s mouth almost lazily. “Don’t make it worse.” He muttered under his breath and against the Brit’s lips.

“Trust me a little, will you?” Allen was smiling as he kissed his nose.

“And I do, or else I wouldn’t be here right now, but when it concerns your fists I don’t trust you much.”

“Ouch.” He kissed him again and stood up right. “I’ll see you all later!” He yelled to everyone: they had been isolated in the club due to the storm outside last night and the two days before.

“Hey love,” he turned around. “Be careful, yeah? It might rain again.” Allen only winked and nodded before opening the door.

“Allen, wait!” He turned around and saw Tricia zipping up her coat. “Can you drop me downtown please?” She requested.

“Uh, sure.” It wasn’t uncommon for them to join someone else on a ride, but it was weird for them to do so when he was going to the gym as he was there for about 3-4 hours before going back. They both left and the woman sat on the passenger’s seat. “So, where are you going, Tricia?”

“Don’t worry, I have a feeling we are going to the same place.” She smiled at him, sweetly.

_ Too _ sweetly.

“I don’t understand what you mean, I’m…”

“You know  _ exactly _ what I mean.” She cut him off swiftly. “So you either start driving to that bakery, or I’ll tell Neah how you  _ really _ got that cut on your arm.”

Allen pulled a face but obeyed. “Since when are you this bossy?” He grumbled.

“Since you decided that getting into trouble all the time was a good idea.” She replied.

“And how did you know I was going there?” He questioned, sighing: it made no sense to keep playing fool.

“Lavi told you to not make it worse, he'd never say that if you had been going to the gym. And there's also the fact that you'd do anything to keep Tyki from hurting and going to beat Link is something you'd do without thinking twice.” She explained shrugging.

“And you decided to tag along to keep an eye on me?”

“No. I tagged along because I'm the one who'll be doing the talking, not you.” He opened his mouth to complain but she held her hand up. “Listen, I know you want Tyki to be better. I want that too, but beating someone is not always the best solution, alright? So you'll let me handle the talking, yes?”

The boy huffed, but nodded nonetheless: he really didn't need Neah knowing what exactly happened at Pimlico.

“You are evil.”

“I am not. But you all need someone to keep you on your toes. And Neah trusted me with that mission, so I'm just doing my job.” She replied. “He loves you, you know that right? And he just wants to make sure you are not getting into trouble more than it’s needed.”

“I know that.” He sighed. But it still hurt that his uncle, the second closest thing he had to a father nowadays, one of the people whom he loved the most didn’t trust him enough to do what he thought that was needed to make people happy.

Tricia smiled and brushed his hair out of his face. “It’s not just you, you know? He asked me to keep an eye on every single one of you.”

* * *

“Is Mr. Link here?” Tricia asked one of the girls behind the counter.

“The baker? Yeah, I think so. Who's asking for him?”

“I'm Tricia Oliveira and this here is Allen Marian. We own a restaurant down in Soho and we have an offer for him.”

“An... offer? What kind of offer?”

“Sorry, that is only for his ears, I'm afraid. So, is he here so we may talk to him?”

The girl frowned, but slipped to the back of the shop and called the man, that came out wiping his hands on a cloth. 

“Were you asking for me?” He questioned, frowning.

“Yes, is there somewhere private we could talk?” She asked.

“Uh… Sure, the office is empty.” He didn’t look like he trusted them but Allen couldn’t blame him at all. “Mary said you had an offer for me?”

“Exactly.” She nodded and followed him, Allen trailing behind, his eyes glued to the pastries at display. “I’ll buy some for you later. If you behave.” Tricia told him, smiling kindly.

“Really? I’ll be in my best behaviour, then.” He grinned back at her and the woman shook her head, not even amused by now.

They entered a small office and Link offered them a place on the sofa as he sat on the other one, but only Tricia sat down, Allen decided to remain standing just in case. “So, what’s the offer?”

“There is no offer, really.” She said. “We are here for a  _ very _ different matter.”

“What? Look, I don’t have any time to spare, so you know where the door is.” The man snarled as he stood up.

“Mr. Link, you are going to sit down and listen to what I have to say, or else Allen is going to be the one doing the talking. And he won’t be as kind as I will be, if you understand me.” Allen smiled darkly at him, all teeth and Link sat down again, huffing.

“Alright, whatever you have to say, say it.” 

“Tyki Mikk.” He looked up, surprised at hearing that name. “I see it does ring a bell.


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm back with it! I'm sorry about the delay, but I was writing the Christmas fic, if you want to read it, it's called "It's Christmas time again" and it's a threesome!**

* * *

"Tyki Mikk." He looked up, surprised at hearing that name. "I see it does ring a bell. I don't know what made you think that it'd be funny to mess with him, make him think you were interested in him and then break his heart the way you did, and my best guess would have been that he had slept with you and then dumped you, only this is not his style whatsoever."

"Nah, that would have been more of my style back in the day." Allen said, leaning against the door.

"True enough. So my guess this was just pure revenge." The baker had paled a bit and Allen was glad to see that. "Oh, so I'm right. Then, I'll just make a question: why?"

The blond man looked terrified, his eyes darting from Tricia to Allen and he could not decide which of the two was more terrifying: the woman with the overly sweet face and sharp tongue, or the small guy at the back who was smiling at him like a tiger that had finally sunk his teeth in the neck of his prey.

He could try and lie, but he was aware than they would both know it and he seriously did not want to deal with the white-haired one because he really did look ready to throw in some punches.

"What do you even care? What are you? His caretakers?" He shouldn't have said that. He really shouldn't have said that. And why did he even say it? He hadn't meant to! Maybe he was on the cray-cray side of things sometimes, but he was not suicidal!

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Allen growled as he approached him, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"I-I…" He pressed against the back of the sofa. "I did it for a friend, ok?" He blurted out and that seemed to stop the albino on his tracks, thoroughly confused.

"What?"

"A friend of mine, Tokusa." Ah, fuck it all. There really was no sense on lying to them and he would like not looking like a blue baloon. "He uh… He had sex with Tyki, met at your club, I think. They kept having sex and Tokusa ended up falling for him and well, Tyki…"

"Turned him down when he told him." Allen finished, now leaning against the sofa his sister-in-law was sitting on. "Sounds like Tyki, yeah."

"Allen!" She exclaimed, frowning at him.

"What? I love him, you know that, he's the closest thing to an older brother I have, but that doesn't mean I can say this isn't like something he'd do. He's done it before, multiple times." He replied: he was a gambler, he cheated and he liked to intimidate people, but that didn't mean whatsoever that he didn't have standards. Low ones, but standards nonetheless. "Okay, what else?"

"He asked me to make Tyki feel the same way he felt. The heartbreak and all." Link quickly summarised. "He's like a brother to me and I just couldn't refuse after I saw what being rejected had done to him but…" he seemed unsure to proceed, frowning and wringing his hands.

Allen chuckled, his eyes suddenly softening as he understood what happened. "You fell for him." He finished and Tricia turned to look at him, astonished. "What? Don't look at me like that! You are the one who is supposed to be good at reading people, not me!"

"I do believe Cross also requested you to be able to do that, am I wrong?" She questioned before he turned to look at him.

"But I do it for a hobby. Anyway, if you liked him, why did you break up with him? I mean, you knew Tyki _liked_ you, in more than a sexual way."

"As I said, Tokusa is like a brother to me, if I started going out with Tyki… _Really_ going out, he wouldn't have taken it too well."

That brought silence in the room, thick and uncomfortable. Tricia just couldn't believe it: all that suffering for nothing? Sometimes she could not believe men, wouldn't it be much easier to just talk things out? Sheryl was also like that, bottling things up and just keeping most of everything to himself. Wisely, Tyki and Skinn, too. Allen and the twins were more open about most things. Then there was Tora and Maa, who would just tell anyone anything and Fii… well, he was an odd one, but he also had a tendency of keeping everything to himself.

"Look, I know nothing of your situation with that friend of yours, but if he also sees you as his brother like you do, he should be happy for you." Allen suddenly said, startling her. "You should never put your own happiness in front of anybody's else, it is _not_ worth it, really." He told him and Tricia saw a trace of sadness and pain cross his eyes, but it was so fast that if she hadn't been looking at him in the eye, she'd have miss it. "You see what you do, but the least you can do, is apologise to Tyki for how you've treated him. He really does love you, I've never seen him cry over someone except for his brother." He smiled and stood straight, helping Tricia up by offering a hand.

"He cried?" Link whispered, looking at him.

"Broke down, actually. If you decide to come clean with him, just say I told you to come, the bouncers will let you in, go to the bar, look for the barman and tell him you are there to see me…" He winked at him and the woman hit him lightly on the head.

"You really do need to come clean, if not for Tyki, for yourself." She said as she started to walk to the door, Allen following her and leaving the blond inside. "You are lucky Lavi is the sweetest person we've ever met. Anyone else would think you were cheating on him, phrasing it like that."

Allen wanted to tell her that Lavi wasn't the sweetest, but he really was! He had never seen him get angry at anyone except that one time at his old job. And that he been hot as fuck so he guessed it didn't exactly count.

Tricia kept her word and bought him a variety of pastries.

"So, are you really going to the gym?" She questioned.

"Yeah, I wasn't lying about that. I don't have a schedule like other members because of our shifts, so I just go in and out when I can. Do you want me to drive you to the club first?" He asked.

"No, no dear. I need to buy some things for Sheryl, so you go do your thing and I'll go do mine. Is that shoe shop near your gym still open?"

"Mallory's? Sure! Just a couple of days ago Lavi and I went there to buy trainers for him." He told her as he revved the car. "So, what do you think Link is going to do?"

"I don't know, but he seemed pretty shaken up when you told him Tyki cried because of him." She replied. "I have to admit, I didn't think that this was what was going with him. I guess it does make sense that he broke up with Tyki."

"But he could have done it coming clean, too. Would have given Tyki closure." Allen huffed.

"That's the thing dear, I don't think he wanted to give him closure, he wanted to Tyki to keep thinking about him one way or the other."

"Well that just sucks."

"Isn't it what you did with Chaozii? You left h..." She questioned, frowning at him.

"Huh!? It was never my intention, that's for sure. I just ended something that should have never happened on the first place." He interrupted rudely, but this was a topic he was not going to be discussing with anyone, except, maybe with Tyki if needed.

Tricia sighed and nodded, not happy with how he responded, but she knew this was going to be the reaction he'd get out of him. The ride was silent after that until they got to the gym.

"You know I love you, right? I just don't want to talk about that." Allen half-apologised, rounding the car to help her out.

"I know dear." She smiled and put his hair behind his ear. "Meet you here at 7?" He nodded, still looking apologetic. "Give me a kiss and everything will be forgotten." She said and he beamed like a kid, bending and kissing her cheek.

"I'll see you later." He said before he stepped inside the gym.

He hadn't meant to be so rude to her, he loved the woman almost as much as he would have loved a mother. Tricia had been his first real female role model, his sisters not really fulfilling that role and he cared for her more than he liked to admit. He sighed as he opened the door that led to the MMA practice area.

"Hey Al! Long time no see!" Two guys waved at him and he walked up to them.

"Hey, how's it going?" He grinned at them, setting his bag down on a bench as he started to wrap his hands in bandages.

"Boring without you. Got some fresh meat, though." Jack, the bulkiest out of them said, pointing out at two guys who were on the other side of the room.

"Hm. Any good?"

"Average. They aren't terrible, but they wouldn't last five minutes against you." Dean, who had been kicking the punching bag and stopped to join the talk, replied.

Allen made a humming sound as he sat on the floor to wrap his ankles and feet.

"Allen!" They turned around to see Mike waved at them from the ring. "I hope you are ready because I am so busting your ass today!"

"Like the last 15 times, Mike?" Allen asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"One of these day, man, one of these days I'll make you eat dust!" The man fumed as he turned around.

"Yeah yeah…" Allen muttered as he stood up. "Hold the bag for me?" He asked Dean, who nodded and grabbed the bag as Allen started with some low kicks.

"Say, how's Lavi?" Mike questioned as he joined Jack on the floor, resting for a while.

"Fine. _Real_ fine if you ask me." He replied, smirking.

The trio laughed at him, shaking their heads. "I still wonder how you became so lucky to get him." Dean said.

"I'm gonna go with amazing bed skills." He switched into punches. "I mean, that's how we met in the first place."

"I thought you said you met at a bar?"

"Not at a… bar. At _the_ bar, at the club." He delivered two hard punches that made Dean stagger. "He had come with two of his friends –you know Lena– and my sister pointed him out to me. We fucked. And after that we continued to sleep until he asked me out a on a date." He resumed. He left out the part of the beating, they didn't need to know that.

"Huh. Even for that you have to be weird." Jack huffed out.

"Didn't you meet your girlfriend in Peru? And she's literally from four streets from where you grew up?" Allen countered.

"Eh, he does have a point, Jackie." Mike said. "But seriously, I don't think it's fair to be so good at this, have a job you love, a huge and awesome family and now just the best boyfriend you could have ever got."

"Yeah well… Believe me when I say my life wasn't always this good." He had never told them, but they knew he, like all of his siblings, was adopted, so they never really questioned much into the topic.

They kept doing their rounds and laughing until they heard the guys at the other side of the room laugh and make obscene gestures. They had decided to ignore them, but Allen heard something he probably wasn't supposed to hear.

"Like dude, have you seen the bitch that came up with that pansy there? That's waaaaay too much woman for him! I'd fuck her so good against the wall she'd come back begging for more."

"Oh shit." Dean made the movement to grab Allen by his arm, but the albino shot him such a deadly glare than he recoiled, letting him go there. "Fuck. He's so damn scary when he's mad."

"And he's almost half our size. I wonder how the rest of his siblings are." Mike wondered.

"You've never been to Noah's Ark? The bouncers are scary as fuck, no wonder there never are fights in there!" Jack replied. "We should go make sure he doesn't get suspended. Again."

He had been suspended for two months three years ago when he beat a man to a pulp when he had said that 'Homos should go die'. The only reason he hadn't been expelled was because the owner, a man named Jeryy loved him to no end since he had known him for years as he was an acquaintance of his dad or something like that.

"You want to repeat that, mate?" Allen had already gotten there and was standing in front of him.

There were sneakers around the group because Allen was just half of that guy just as the other three arrived. "Hey Al, Jeryy is going to be so pissed if you leave him like you left Harry." Jack said, putting a hand over his shoulder, only to have it shrugged off.

"That asshole had it coming. And so does this one. Now, tell me what you said about Tricia."

"I said that she's too much for you."

"Oh no, that part I agree with, gays don't really go for women, you know?" He smirked at him. "I was talking about the part you called my sister-in-law a bitch."

"Well, with those two melons in front of…" He never got the chance to finish his sentence when Allen yanked him down by the neck of his shirt and a fist connected with his face.

"So cocky, yet your reflexes are shit." Allen muttered as he pulled him up and pushed him into the ring. "Let's see how good you are."

Everyone followed them, surrounding the ring. "Don't cry when you get your ass kicked."

Allen snorted at that. "I've been doing this since I was 7, are you sure I'll be the one getting his ass kicked? Just to make this clear, I'm the only one in this gym that has never been defeated by any of the presents." Jack and Dean shook their heads in amusement as Mike sighed in exasperation: leave it to Allen to taunt his opponent to the limits of what was safe.

"A wimp like you? They must have been going easy on you. Didn't wanna hurt your feelings." The man said as he climbed into the ring.

"Maybe. But then again that's got nothing to do with me, because I never go easy on anyone." He jumped the ropes and smirked, getting in position. "Whenever you are ready."

The man charged at him, but Allen - being smaller and lighter on his feet - could move out of his way fast enough to make the man ran into the turnbuckle. After that, he charged, the inner part of his elbow at his throat as he pushed with enough force to make him fall on his back, but the man pulled an arm up and punched him on the cheek. Allen snarled and then turned him over, climbed on his back and grabbed both of his arms and pulled. Hard.

The sound of agony and pain that left his mouth made everyone around the ring squirm. "If I ever, _ever_ , hear you say anything like that about anyone in my family, you'll know why my nickname is Red." He stood up, and made sure to press his knees on the man's kidneys as he did so.

"You… bitch." Allen whirled around and grabbed him by the hair before punching him on the face again, effectively breaking his nose and knocking him down.

"Do _not_ think I won't beat you until you bleed, asshole." He left him there, jumping out of the ring and going to his bag, grabbing a towel and walking to ice-pack machine, grabbing one and putting it on his face, working on unwrapping his feet.

"You alright?" Mike as he sat next to him and unwrapped his hands. "You went soft on him."

"I don't need Jeryy calling my father again and having to deal with the both of them. Besides, I knocked him down anyways, so they don't know I didn't really even try to hurt him." He grinned and put his shoes on. "I'll go find Tricia and get the hell out of here before Jeryy walks through those doors."

"Yeah, he won't be pleased when he finds out."

The albino sighed as he let his hair down. "Just tell him to call me if he's got a problem with it."

"Will do. Have fun explaining to you boyfriend how you got that." Dean teased.

"Oh, Lavi is ok. I'm more afraid of telling Neah."

"Who?"

"Neah. My uncle. He freaks out a lot whenever we are hurt." He explained. "Anyway, I'll see you around guys." With that he left, fishing his phone from his bag. "Hey Tricia. Where are you at? I finished sooner than expected." He said when she answered her phone. "The kitchen supplies store? Sure, I'll head that way, meet you there."

Ten minutes later he was there, and Tricia was already waiting for him outside. "Allen! What happened?"

"Ah… Mike wasn't in the mood for pulling his punches. His boss chewed him out, apparently." He replied, taking the bags off her hands and smiling. "It's just a bruise, so it'll fade away quick enough!"

"Neah is not going to be happy."

"Neah is never happy when I get hurt. One would think that after so many years he'd have grown used to it." He sighed as they climbed on the car. Tricia smiled sweetly at that, not replying.

* * *

"What happened to you?" Lavi questioned, getting up from the bed and walking to him, tilting his head to the side as soon as Allen walked into their bedroom.

"Got into a fight in the gym. A new guy called Tricia a bitch." He summarised and sat down on the middle of the bed, letting his boyfriend examine the bruise.

"You won, right?" The ginger said, grinning when Allen nodded. "Hm… That's my man." He purred before kissing him deeply, earning a soft mewl from the albino. "I'll go fetch some ice for you and then you can tell me what happened at the bakery."

"'Kay." He moved until his back was resting against the headboard.

Lavi was back not even five minutes later with an ice-pack wrapped in a towel. "Here." He gently put it over the bruised cheek. "How did it go?"

"Tricia saw through us. Said that if I didn't let her go with me she'd tell Neah how I got the cut on my arm."

"Sneaky." Lavi simply said.

"Yeah. Long story short: Tyki had fucked Link's best friend and when he confessed Tyki turned him down, so in revenge they decided that Link would break Tyki's heart too. What they didn't consider in the equation was Link falling for Tyki, too. And now he's afraid of telling Tyki in fear of how his best friend will respond to it." Allen summarised, moving a bit when the ginger rested his head on his lap. His finger quickly untying the knot of Lavi's patch, setting it down on his nightstand and starting to play with his hair.

"That's fucked up." Lavi replied, blinking quickly when the light hit his usually covered eye. "What did you tell him?"

"That if his friend can't be happy for him, he isn't really his friend. And that he should never put his happiness in the line for someone's approval, not worth it. We also told him that he should, at least, tell Tyki what was going on. Tricia said that if he didn't want to do it for Tyki, he should at least do it for himself." Allen told him. "I don't know what he'll do, but if I had to judge by how he reacted when I told him Tyki cried over him, I think he'll come."

"What do you think Tyki will do if Link does come? It'd be good for him to have someone, but he can be so damn proud, too."

"Hey, what do you mean _too_?" He swatted his head playfully and the ginger laughed.

"Are you denying you are proud as fuck, kitten? Remember that time you couldn't even walk and you almost tripped on the stairs because you wouldn't let me carry you?"

"And whose fault was it that I could barely walk, hm?"

"Mine. And I'm damn proud of it." He smiled and pushed himself up until their lips touched. "You moaned so wantonly that time…" He mumbled and smirked when Allen blushed ever so faintly.

"Shut up." Lavi laughed and rolled to lie next to him. "Are we opening tonight?"

"Neah called and said we'd remain closed the rest of the week, there's nothing we can really do with that damn weather and most people are staying in home." Lavi replied. "Oh, he also said that him and Cross were coming to have lunch with us."

"Really? Sweet!" He exclaimed as he moved to lie next to his boyfriend, rearranging the cloth on his face.

* * *

They were all around the table, eating and laughing and talking, relaxed and not keeping track of time, for once, when Allen shot a glance to his father, who smiled a bit nervous at him. The albino simply smiled at him in an attempt to reassure him and it seemed to work, seeing how Cross rose to his feet.

"Guys." He said and everyone shut up. "I have something to say." He turned around to look at his lover and sighed. He was just so damn beautiful. His black hair looked like silk and contrasted perfectly with his pale skin and amber eyes. He was just how he remembered him from their days together when they were still kids.

Neah had changed him. And Allen. He made them better persons, gave them a place to settle down and a family. And he didn't care for what they had been doing. What they still did when needed. And for that he was eternally grateful so all he could do was to give him the one thing he could, the one thing Adam had refused to give him all those years ago. And so, he voiced his feelings.

"You changed me, my life. You gave me a place to belong and a bunch of amazing children. You gave Allen a chance in life and siblings. You showed him what it was to create with his hands instead of to destroy, like I did. You are the most amazing person I have ever met, Neah. Your heart is bigger than you and that used to worry me back when we met, you always did everything you could to help everyone and never anger anyone, to always be on everyone's good side, as hard as it was and you never asked for anything in exchange, so I-I wanted to give you something..." He coughed awkwardly before reaching his hand into his pocket. Everyone was staring at him, confused and touched, save for the one person he had raised. "So with everyone as testimony… Will you marry me?"

There were gasps of surprise and Road, Tricia, Mimi and Krory, the twins' boyfriend, covered their mouths. The Portuguese brothers as well as Fii and Maa were just staring at the man with wide open grins. Skinn was downright crying, always the most emotional out of them all. Lulu, Mai, Wisely (Nalei hadn't been able to make it to the dinner as he had an important test the next day) and Tora were simply smiling sweetly. The twins were giggling and clutching their boyfriend's arms. Allen and Lavi smiled knowingly, as the ginger had imagined that the reason Cross had been so skittish the past days had to be for something of that caliber.

"I…" He was shocked, he hadn't seen it coming, he had resigned himself to never get married because Adam had always out flat refused to and he knew, or thought he knew, that Cross didn't care for marriage at all. "Yes." Everyone left out a shaky breath and Cross slipped the simple silver band on his finger, kissing his hand lovingly.

And suddenly all of their children scrambled to their feet to hug both of them to congratulate them. And soon after so had the other four, Lavi taking his boyfriend's hand in his and Allen replied by kissing him.

"Did any if you know?" Neah questioned, whipping his eyes and embracing his fiance. It sounded so nice, and it felt even better to be able to call Cross that way.

"I did." Allen replied raising his hand. "Also Nalei. Sorry dad, I told him." Cross only rolled his eyes: he had suspected he would have told him.

"How long?"

"Eh… over a year, I'd say." He replied, sitting on his lover's lap, Lavi simply squirming beneath him to make sure they were both comfortable.

"A year!?" The pianist turned around and stared at his own ginger lover. "You've had the ring for _over_ a year?"

"Well…" Cross scratched the side of his neck, thinking how to phrase his answer. "I just wanted to make sure that everyone had somewhat settled at one place or another." He simply said and Neah sighed, kissing his cheek.

"Thank you." He told him before turning to his children. "What are your plans for tonight? Anyone leaving?" Everyone looked at each other before shaking their heads. "Alright. How does a game a sound? Cards?"

"With Al _and_ Tyki together? Yeah right, I like my money in my pockets and my clothes on my body, thank you very much." Fiidora snarled, crossing his arms over his chest, glaring at his cheating siblings.

"Fair point." Neah noted, the two of them loved stripping everyone else naked. Even if Tyki himself always ended up losing three or four items of clothing. "What about Karaoke?"

"Yeah! We haven't played in ages!" Road exclaimed and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. Let's finish eating, clean everything up and then we'll play." Cross said and before he even finished the sentence Allen had already gone back to eating and surprisingly, so had Krory, whom they all found out, ate as much and as fast as the younger albino.

It wasn't long until everything had been cleaned up and they were sitting around the large TV having brought extra chairs from the table.

"Let's do random, yeah?" Neah said.

"Random?" Lavi questioned Allen, resting his hand on his hip as the albino sat down, once again, on his lap.

"Yeah. Whoever knows the songs jumps in and sings. After the third song you gotta dance, too." He explained.

"Well, that's something I'd like to see." He replied, smiling at him deviously and Allen snorted before kissing him.

"Of course you do."

The first song that came in was _Teenage Dream_ and before anyone could react, the twins had the mics in their hands.

After twenty minutes Allen hadn't even moved a muscle to take the mic. "Are you not going to sing, kitten?" Lavi questioned, slightly disappointed about not hearing his lover's voice.

"Hm? I will, I'm just waiting for the good songs to come in. Mai and I programmed it, this is why she hasn't tried to get it yet either, we know when our favourite songs are going to kick in."

"Of course you two know. You two are like two peas in a pod." Lavi replied, his arms circling his waist.

"You think so?" That was a first. Everyone usually said he was just like Cross or Tyki. Sometimes Neah, but still mostly Cross.

"Yeah. You both act the same way more often than not and have the same mannerisms." Lavi told him, smiling. "You may not be related by blood or look the same, but no one can deny you two are siblings." Allen smiled at him and kissed him.

"Thank you." He simply said. "Oh!" He had jumped so fast he almost sent Lavi crashing to the ground.

 _Beat drop_ had come in and he had been the only one to get up, so he was singing alone. Everyone seemed slightly confused at the beginning of the song.

"I doesn't sound like the original…" Mimi mused.

"Ah. It's nightcore." Lavi replied and quickly told her what nightcore was. "He made the arrangement." He added.

"How can you tell?" Sheryl asked.

"Well, firstly because I was there when he did it. Secondly, his arrangements have a different feel from any other nightcore." He explained, his eyes never leaving his boyfriend.

_Let it in your body_

_And the party won't stop_

_'Cause it's seven kinds of naughty_

_When you let the beat drop_

He was so into it. You just had to look at him to see that he was having the time of his life, even if he was singing alone. He just look gorgeous and totally in his element, which was something that Lavi didn't see this often nowadays and he kind of missed.

As soon as the song ended everyone cheered for him and he just grinned before leaving the mic on the stand and making his way to his boyfriend. "You were awesome."

"Yeah?" Lavi nodded before kissing him. "What about you?"

"Me? No chance. I can't sing for shit."

"C'mon, everybody can sing." Allen said, tangling his hands in his red hair.

"Nope. I'm telling you; I sound like a frog-meets-dying-cat." Lavi shook his head and Allen pouted. "Not working this time around, love."

The younger albino sighed in defeat. "You are gonna have to compensate me, then."

"Of course." He flashed him a smiled and kissed his neck.

Allen sang two more songs before him, Road, Mimi and Jasdero had jumped to their feet, grabbed a mic in and got in position.

_Ireoda michyeo naega yeoriyeori chakhadeon_

_Geureon naega neottaemune dora naega dokhan naro byeonhae naega_

"Abracadabra!" Lavi exclaimed and his lover winked at him.

"How do you know? I thought you didn't like pop." Sheryl inquired.

"I don't. But Yuu _does,_ even if he denies it he looooves Korean female groups. And so does his boyfriend. Especially BEG and 2any1 so I've heard _and_ seen this dance for about a thousand times. What does surprise me is that they know Korean." He pointed out.

"They don't." Tyki explained. "Well, Allen does, but not the other three. They just know the lyrics by heart."

Lavi wasn't even listening anymore, his eyes glued to his boyfriend's swinging hips. Fuck. It had been far too long since they last had sex and seeing him dancing so sexily as he sang was doing things to him. Things he'd prefer all the others not seeing first hand. Them knowing he had no problem with, he wasn't shy about fucking their sibling or getting fucked by him, however, getting a hard-on in front of them was something he really didn't want to happen. Especially with Neah and Cross there.

And by the smirk playing on Allen's lips he knew it, he knew _exactly_ what he was doing to him. Cheeky little fucker. He was soooo going to get it tonight.

As soon as the song finished, Allen sat down on his lap, straddling him and kissed him, hard. Lavi groaned low on his throat, his hands slipping under his ass and squeezing roughly.

"Get a room you two!" Devi hollered and Lavi smirked, pushing Allen slightly so he could stand up.

"Now that's the best idea I've heard in all day." He hooked his finger around Allen's belt and tugged him. "Night everyone!" He said, Allen sniggering behind him.

"Not that you are going to sleep too much!" Fiidora yelled, sending about everyone in a fit of laughs.

"I do understand why you said he was the perfect match for Allen." Lavi heard Mimi tell Lulu, who just nodded before stealing a kiss from her.

As soon as their door was shut and locked Lavi pressed Allen against the wall, working a leg between his.

"You are evil babe." He groaned, attacking his throat. "Dancing like that to tease me in front of everyone…"

"Fuck. If it makes you act like this every time, you can be _sure_ I'll tease the fuck out of you more often." Allen replied, his fingers working quickly on untying his patch and throwing it to the table. He moved to his shirt, tugging it up.

Lavi took it off before he started to undress him, leaving him bare in a couple of minutes. "Now bunny, it hardly seems fair that you get to be half-dressed when I'm wearing nothing."

"Oh, so that's unfair, hm?" Allen nodded, smirking. "How do you want it?" The albino sighed against his temple. It didn't matter how rough they started, how hard Lavi had pinned him against the wall or the door or whatever surface, he would always ask. From the very first day. That's why he loved what they had so much: because Lavi would always take care of him first, just like he tried to do with him, and the ginger would _never_ take more than he wanted to give each time, never taking for granted that what he had given him once, was always what was going to be. Lavi had done lots of things to him: edged, tied, put ice-cubes in him, denied him and used toys with him, but he _always_ asked him what he was willing to give each time. And even after so many months of being together, his heart still fluttered each time he did so.

"Like the old days." He mumbled before attacking his mouth, his left hand gripping red hair tightly. Lavi's hands were holding him against the wall, providing with no friction whatsoever. "Bunny, please." Allen looked up at him, lips red.

"I know, I know. But first…" He winked at him and dropped to his knees and Allen groaned, his arm flying to cover his eyes. He loved it when Lavi got down on him, especially in that position because he could see Lavi looking at him through his lashes and he found him so sexy like that. "Am I really such a horrible view when I'm sucking you that you have to cover your eyes?" Lavi teased.

"What? No!" He stared at him, alarmed. "It's not like that! I swear that I… Oh, you can be huge bastard when you want, bunny." He groaned when he realised he had been played.

"Sorry, sorry." He kissed his hipbone before mouthing his way to his lover's awaiting cock. He gave it a long lick before putting it in his mouth, his tongue pressing hard against it.

"Fuuuuck bunny!" Allen moaned, his hands going down to grip his boyfriend head, because more than sucking, Lavi liked having his mouth fucked hard.

The DJ started to thrust into that hot, wet cavern. He started slowly and shallow, not wanting to hurt the redhead. Allen could feel the throat contracting around him, how Lavi's tongue tongue followed his shaft every time he pulled back or how his cheeks hollowed when he sucked harder.

"Hm, ngh…" Lavi's moans and shlick sounds were certainly not helping Allen to maintain his cool either. He jumped when he felt hands press hard against his ass before kneading it. He knew what that meant.

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you." Lavi rolled his eyes at him before relaxing his throat.

Allen started to move, still holding his boyfriend's head, his nail gently scraping his scalp as he thrusted into his mouth. "You feel so good, bunny!" He moaned, his head thrown back against the wall. "God!" He picked up his rhythm, trying to go further down, to feel more heat around him. He was so close, so close to cumming, but he didn't want to, he wanted to come with his lover buried deep inside him, but as soon as he tried to pull away Lavi followed and forced him to open his legs even more before shoving two fingers up his entrance. "Lavi!" He came down his throat, his knees buckling and thighs quivering. "Damn babe." He wheezed out. Lavi let go of him before rising to his feet, his fingers still inside him. "Hn!"

"You alright there, kitten?" He whispered, his voice rough and lips red and puffed out.

"Fuck. Yeah." He brought Lavi down to kiss him. His hands ventured down and groped his lover, smirking at the wet patch on the front of his pants. "Wow bunny, you are so hard..." He pressed the heel of his hand making Lavi buck into it and moan. "Does me fucking your mouth turn you on so much?"

"You… know it does." He replied, as he took his fingers out.

"Hey!"

"Just let me fetch the lube." He kissed his cheek before going to the bathroom to get it. "Why do we keep it in here anyway? Every time we have to get up and get it." He questioned.

"Good question, but can you hurry up and come back here? Please?" Allen replied.

"Hold you horses babe." The redhead came back, losing the clothes that still covered his body. "You are the one who has already come once." He whispered before kissing him again and making him wrap a leg around his waist. "Good?"

"Hm-mh. It's always good with you." Allen mumbled before kissing him again. "Hmm…" He started grinding against him as soon as he heard the cap of the lube being popped open.

Lavi squirted some on his fingers and rubbed them together to warm it up a bit. He brought his hand down and rubbed his lover's puckered entrance, smirking when small groans and moans started to spill from his mouth.

"Lavi, please." Allen looked up at him, pupils blown in pleasure and lust. "I need you." _That_ was what the ginger had been waiting for, that admission of need and want, so he pushed two fingers in, knowing Allen could take it. "Ah!" He gripped at his shoulders tightly. "Oh, ye...fuck! Ah, ah…" Lavi kept moving his fingers, his free arm circling the albino's waist to keep him up. "More!" He gasped.

"As you wish." The barman pushed a third finger in and without giving him time to adjust he started to fuck him mercilessly. "You look so good kitten. All flushed and wanton for me…" He bit his ear gently, knowing how much the albino liked it.

"La-Lavi… Enough." Allen managed to articulate, even as he continued to rock his hips against the long fingers inside him, fucking himself against them.

"Ok. Turn around." He slipped his fingers out, dragging a low moan out of his lover who did as told and braced himself against the wall. Lavi kissed his nape before entering him slowly.

"Fuck, kitten… So good." He knew that if he moved he was going to cum right away, he was beyond rock hard and he had been leaking all the time since Allen had started to fuck his face. "I need a minute." He breathed out, resting his forehead on his shoulder.

"Kiss me." Allen simply replied, arching his head back and Lavi obliged, biting softly on his lips, his tongue mapping the inside of his mouth. "Love you." The albino whispered.

"Hm, love you too." He kissed his cheek before giving a short thrust, but stopping again in fear of coming too fast.

"Hey, fuck me already, I don't care if you come in five minutes or in thirty seconds, I want you to fuck me like you always do, so get to it." Allen told him, sneaking an arm around his neck. "You already got me off once, so don't worry about me, alright?" He told him and Lavi nodded, even if he wasn't happy about it.

The redhead rested his forehead against his lover's shoulder and started to thrust as fast and hard as he could. Everything seemed to disappear from around him, his gorgeous boyfriend and the moans _he_ was making him do being the only thing he could focus on.

"Oh god, babe, yes, yes, yes, don't stop, don't you-oh fuck, dare stop." He couldn't keep his voice down even if he tried; it felt so good to be manhandled and fucked like that again, like they used to at the beginning when all their available space was his tiny, tiny studio. "M-more!" Lavi groaned next to his ear before he pushed him harder against the wall, his cheek now pressed almost painfully.

Lavi could feel Allen clenching around him every time he stabbed his prostate, he could feel the taut muscles of Allen's abs quiver under his palm, he could smell the sweat and the heavy salty and musky sex scent that heavily permeated the air around them and he could taste in on Allen every time he kissed or sucked on his neck and shoulders, marking him. He could feel how his balls tightened, warmth curling on the bottom of his stomach.

"I-I'm cominngg!" Lavi gasped, his hands tightened on his lovers hips, probably bruising them. He stilled as he came inside his lover, a low moan ripping from his throat who still was grinding his hips against him.

"Bu-bunny, please!" The DJ moaned, arching his back slightly. And even though his mind was still hazy from his orgasm he reached around and started to stroke his boyfriend, kissing his neck and shoulder at the same time. "Ah, ah, ah… La-avi, so good, so good…" The redhead smiled against hot skin; Allen could be so vocal sometimes. He felt him tense up under his hands before he arched, cum dripping down his hand. "Lavi!"

Allen let his head loll on Lavi's shoulder, his hips stuttering against the palm that was loosely wrapped around him. It had felt so good to be fucked like this again, he hadn't even known how much he had missed it until now that he was thoroughly fucked and spent. "Fuck babe, that felt so good." He breathed out.

"I know…" They stayed like that for a few more minutes, Allen bringing a hand to the fiery red hair to play with some strands as they regained their breathes.

"Damn, I missed this." The musician breathed out.

"Yeah, me too." The elder chuckled before pushing himself off him. "We really should avoid the bed for the next few times, walls are really our thing, apparently."

"Agree to that. For a sec I really thought you were going to fuck me into Mai's dorm."

"We could try some other day." The barman replied, kissing his lips quickly before heading to the bathroom. "Let's take a quick shower."

"Ok!" He followed him inside, putting the water to a temperature that they both liked: he liked almost scalding water whereas Lavi prefered on the cold side.

Once they had washed and thoroughly dried their hair Allen flopped on their bed, bouncing a little as Lavi just lay down next to him and hugged him, sighing contentedly.

"You didn't seem surprised when dad asked Neah." Allen pointed out, squirming into his lover's arms.

"It wasn't really that hard to guess why he was so nervous." He explained, resting his chin on top of the albino mop.

"Heh. You never cease to amaze me bunny." He kissed his shoulder, laughing throatily.

"Glad to be of service, then." He kissed his head before covering them both with the bed sheets and the blanket. "Love you."

"Hm… Love you too." He was almost asleep by now, he never had a problem in falling asleep anywhere. Perks of having lived on the streets and with Lavi's arms wrapped around him, it was even easier than before, the warmth radiating from the bigger body always lulling him to sleep.

* * *

I'm sad, this is getting to its end... Please review!


	16. Chapter 16

**This is it guys! The last chapter!**   
**I want to thank all of you for following with this story and for your support.**   
**I'll be "disappeared'' for a while as I work on the next one, which will be in the canon universe/time-verse. I hope you'll read it too!**

* * *

Allen was out of town along with Neah, Lulu, Mai and Tricia. They were back in Liverpool for a little less than a month to supervise how everything was going with the new club.

"Lavi! Have you talked to Al?" Devi questioned.

"No, why?" He was helping Road with her Latin homework once more.

"I can't find the fucking CD with all the tracks he had programmed for today!" He replied, fistting his hair.

"Just call him, Devi. He's in Liverpool, not in China." Lavi told him before he turned to the girl next to him. "Yeah, that's good."

The black-haired one stuck his tongue out before he called his brother. "Al!"

" **Hey Devi. What's up?"**

"I can't find today's tracks. Where did you put them?"

" **Ah, I didn't make any for today or tomorrow. I thought you could do it yourself, you know enough of it to manage it, right?"**

"Really?" It was the first time since he had started helping him DJing that Allen allowed him to completely do it on his own.

" **Yeah, but you know the rules."**

"Yeah, yeah…" He rolled his eyes, Allen was very strict on never putting something a client asked for, whatever the offer was. And he had once been offered 300 dollars. They had seen him doubting, almost taking the money but when he saw their smug faces, he simply turned around, head held up high. "Thank you."

" **Don't mention it. Can you put Lavi on the phone?"**

"Yeah. Yo ginger, phone!" He tossed it to him and Lavi caught it midair.

"Hey babe. How's everything?"

" **It's fine, the workers are really doing an awesome job in here. It should be finished next month."**

"That's awesome. I'll miss Lulu a lot, though." He sighed.

" **Aw bunny, you'll survive! You always do!"** Allen told him. " **How are you doing?"**

"We are managing. We all miss Tricia a lot, I don't think any of us were aware of just how much we all depend on her." Road nodded at that, agreeing with him. "When are you coming back?"

" **Next Friday."**

"Another week? That's too long." Lavi whined, throwing his head back and sighing. "I miss you so much."

" **I miss you too, bunny."** Allen replied. " **Do you want to do something when we get back?"**

"Sure. We could go to Harry Potter if you want to. I heard they are opening a new area."

" **You really want to?"**

"Of course babe. I may not be as obsessed as you with it, but I do love it. It was a really big part of me growing up, gave me hope."

" **Hope? What for?"**

"For me being able to be me. You gave me that."

" **Aw love… I really want to kiss you right now."** Allen cooed. " **I gotta go, Mai is calling me."**

"Alright. Love you."

" **Love you too. Keep me posted?"**

"Of course." Allen hang up when Mai called for him again. "What?" He asked the girl, who was watching him amusedly with a cocked eyebrow.

"You two are so domestic that if it had been someone else I'd find it disgusting." She said.

He rolled his eye. "It's not like we haven't been like that since day one." He pointed out.

"He's got a point, you know?" Tyki said as he dried his hair with a towel and sat down in front of them. "I mean, you two are always cuddling, aren't you?"

"What can I say? He likes to cuddle and I like to make him happy." He linked his fingers behind his head and shrugged, but really, all he wanted was to make his boyfriend happy and if he liked to snuggle and everything, who was he to deny him? "Besides, aren't you the one who is glued to his phone once again?" He was smiling smugly and the Portuguese threw the towel on his face.

"Shut it. I still can't believe the three of you went on my back like that." Tyki glared at him and the ginger sighed, both of them seemingly having forgotten about the girl next to them.

"They did it for you, man. And she actually threatened Al onto letting her in." He told him as he threw him the towel back. "And it's not like it didn't work." Tyki looked away and Lavi smiled, now sweetly before reaching for his hand, placing his whiter one on top of the tanner one. "It _did_ work, right?"

"Yeah…" He reluctantly admitted.

"What are you two talking about!?" Road exclaimed, frowning at both of them.

"Secret." Lavi told her. "Are you done with this?" She shook her head and went back to her Latin homework.

As Road worked on it and Tyki read a book on butterflies, his mind started to wander to two weeks ago, just three days after the guys had left to Liverpool.

_He was working with Mimi on the bar, Neah having asked her to assist them as a waitress once more until they got back because Lavi alone could not deliver the service their customers were used to and expected on his own. It was a normal night, the place was crowded, as always, but most of them were their regular rich kids that knew that if they so much caused trouble the bouncers would kick them out, no matter who they were. So he had been surprised when a new blonde guy stepped in, wringing his hands together and looking everywhere, as if he was looking for someone._

" _Can I help you?" He asked, arching an eyebrow as he refilled a few glasses with shots._

" _I uhm… I'm looking for... Allen?" He said. "He told me to come to you and ask for him."_

" _Allen? Well, he's not here right now. Who are you again?"_

" _My name is Link. Howard Link."_

_Lavi sighed, of course his lovely boyfriend would have to be away when the fucker decided to come. "Alright, stay here for a second." He walked out of the bar, went to Tora. "Hey, I need to go get Tyki can you make sure no one starts stealing bottles or anything?"_

" _Sure man. That's what my job is anyway." Lavi patted him on the arm before he headed to the door._

" _Hey Skin, Maa, I need one of you to come with me." He told them._

" _What for? What about Tora?" Skinn questioned._

" _His guarding the bar! Look, I really need one of you to stay with Jazz at the Poker room!" He was getting a bit anxious now, but Link could walk away any minute now and he would probably never come back if he didn't see Tyki today._

" _Okay, okay… I'll go." Maashima said, stepping in with him and following him. "Now, how about you tell me what the fuck has gotten your panties in a twist?"_

" _Remember how Tyki said he liked someone?"_

" _You mean when Tricia asked us to leave them alone?" Lavi nodded. "Then sure."_

" _Well, the guy and Tyki had a fall out and he's here to apologise, so I need Jazz to take over the Poker and you to watch them." He quickly explained and the man nodded, understanding._

_They reached the door and Lavi simply opened the door. "Tyki, a second please." He said and the Portuguese frowned, but nodded for Jazz to take over as Maashima stepped inside._

" _Something wrong?" He asked. It wasn't unusual for people to tease Lavi about his patch or his sexual orientation, but most of their regulars knew better than to mess with any of the staff, but there was also an asshole looking for trouble. And he had promised Allen he'd take care of Lavi while he was in Liverpool._

" _Someone's here for you." The ginger said._

" _No one ever visits me during work-time, they know I can't step out._ You _know that." He was eyeing him, suspicious._

" _Yeah… But really, I think you should talk with them." He replied. "Even if it's just five minutes, you should hear them out." He said. He was trying his hardest to not let his body betray him._

" _Ok, fine. Just tell whoever it is to make it quick." He grumbled. "I'll be at the dining room."_

" _Alright." He smiled at him before walking away, watching him go in the back and into the house. "Hey, follow me."_

" _He'll see me?" He seemed ridiculously happy and hopeful just by that. The baker stood up and followed him through the crowd._

" _He doesn't know it's you. All of them are extremely proud so I just didn't want to ruin your chances to talk it out." They started to go up the stairs when the American stopped. "Look, I may be not as intimidating as Allen and Tricia and I don't want to be, but that doesn't mean I won't set Allen free on you if you hurt Tyki again."_

" _Set him… free on me?" He was looking at him, confused. "What's your relationship with him?"_

_Lavi smiled, his head cocked to the side and his eye closed. "He's my boyfriend." He simply stated, but Link knew what this implied. It implied that Allen would do anything Lavi asked him to do. Especially if it involved punching someone._

" _Oh." He looked down for a second before squaring his feet and shoulders. "I'm not here to hurt him again. I'm here to make things better. To be better. For him." Lavi nodded and opened the door._

" _First door on your left." He told him before shoving him inside and shutting the door._

_He headed back to the bar and resumed his job, calming the few angry customers at his absence._

" _Is everything alright?" Toraido questioned._

" _I hope so." He smiled and the other one nodded, understanding he wasn't going to say anything else._

_An hour later, when they had already closed and only the VIP regulars were still inside and leaving, he spotted Link going back out, head down and his hands in his pockets. Lavi was about to call for him when a very angry Portuguese was right on his face._

" _You. Come with me. Now."_

_He blinked before following the Southerner into his room. He knew Tyki wouldn't hit him, not after what had happened to him but that didn't mean he wasn't going to get yelled at._

" _You knew. You knew about him. How?"_

" _Seriously Tyki? Allen tells me about almost everything, of course he'd tell me about you." He sighed and sat on the bed, looking at the man, tiredly. "He was just worried about you, so I told him to tell me, to ease him."_

_The elder sat down next to him, staring at the floor. "Did you also know about him and Tricia going to see him?"_

" _Yeah. We uh… We hadn't planned for Tricia to go, too. She just threatened him to take her with him or else she'd…"_

" _She what?"_

" _She'd tell him how he had gotten his cut in the arm." He rubbed his eye before looking at him. "I'm sorry we did it without telling you, but you wouldn't have let us. You are far too proud for that, you'd have told us that you had gotten over him or some nonsense like that. So yeah, we went behind your back. Was it right? Probably not. Do we feel guilty? Definitely not." He stood up and flicked him on the forehead. "You needed to move on, and you couldn't do so without knowing why he acted that way on the first place."_

" _And you say they are devious. You may be a Hufflepuff, but you are just as manipulative as them."_

" _Perhaps. But I cannot act scary like they do. I'm not sure which one of them terrified him the most, Al or Tricia." Tyki did chuckle at that, at least. "He… He didn't hurt you again, did he? Because I told him I'd sent Al after him if he dared to."_

" _He… told me. About Tokusa and everything. I know it's my fault but I didn't really think he'd take it like that. I had always told him I wasn't looking for anything serious." He frowned before looking up. "I guess I had it coming." Lavi didn't reply to that, because he was right: he had had it coming. "He begged for a second chance."_

" _What did you say?"_

_Tyki looked away, blushing faintly. "I told him he'd have to work for it, but that I wasn't going anywhere any time soon."_

" _That's good." He bumped him in the shoulder. "I'll leave you alone. I'm going to sleep."_

" _You are staying today?" He had been going back to the apartment he shared with Kanda, but he was too exhausted to drive._

" _Yeah. I don't think it'd be a good idea to take the car right now. So good night." He smiled and left, going to his and Allen's room._

**End of Flashback**

"Lavi. Lavi!" He blinked and looked at Road, that was handing him her notebook. "You alright?"

"Yeah, spaced out for a bit, don't worry." He flashed her a smile before going through her work. "Hey, that's perfect!" He exclaimed before giving it back to her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, no mistakes!" He grinned before standing up and going to get something to drink, his mind still half in his memories, but he was just glad Tyki and Link had another shot at being together.

* * *

"Can I have a glass of scotch?" Lavi whirled around when he heard the question, his eye lighting up.

"You are back!" He leaned over the bar and kissed him, his hands quickly losing themselves in his white hair. "I thought you'd arrive later on."

"Mai and I may or may not have stepped on the gas pedal a bit too much." He replied as he sat down on a free booth.

"I would say you'd get a speeding ticket, but you probably won't, so why even bother." He said as he served him the scotch and Allen just grinned cheekily. "Oh, and also, if I were you or Tricia, I'd stay the hell out of Tyki's path right now."

"Ugh. He's mad?"

"Yeap. Didn't like it that you two went and acted on his back. But it worked, so he's not going to kill you. Much." Allen sighed and put his head on the bar, just to have Lavi smack him lightly. "Don't fall asleep in here."

"Not tired." Lavi only smiled and kissed the top of his head before going away to serve the few people still in the club.

He liked seeing his boyfriend like that. He had never seen him happier, livelier. Lavi had been skittish the first week or so, but just like he had expected of him, he had gotten the hang of it really quick. He moved with total fluidity inside the bar, not bumping with anything.

"Need a bib?" He looked at his sister as she sat down next to him.

"Shut up Mai." She snickered. "Do you think Neah will kill us?" He questioned.

"Most definitely. Tricia, too." She replied. "Hey ginger, give me a shot of vodka."

"Oh, hey pixie." He came back and served her the clear liqueur shot before refilling his boyfriend's. "Where are the others?"

"Probably still in the car." Allen replied.

"Didn't y'all leave together?" Lavi leaned against the bar and they both nodded, glasses in hand and glancing at each other. "Alright, I'm going to bite into it. How long did it take you two to get here?"

"A bit under three hours." Maitora replied way too proudly. "We broke a new record!" The albino high-fived her.

Lavi frowned and turned away: he knew Allen liked dangerous things, but was it really necessary to take such risks with a car? After what happened to him he had thought his boyfriend would be a bit more conscious about it.

"Bunny?" Allen reached for him, but he just pulled away; he was so mad at him right now.

"Not now." He turned around and went to the other side of the bar, whipping a glass that was already clean.

The albino frowned and stood up: everyone had been walked out by Tora by now, so they were the only ones left. The handywoman simply shrugged and walked to her other brother, who was asking her how was the new club.

"Lavi?" The ginger promptly ignored him so the DJ snatched the glass away. "What is it?"

"Really? You don't know?" He growled before slamming his hands down.

Allen frowned, they had been fine until Maitora said they had gotten here fast and…

"Allen D. Marian-Campbell! Maitora D. Campbell!" The albino jumped when Neah's voice boomed through the place. "If you two ever pull something like that again, I swear to God I'll ground you both for years!" Oh man, he was _mad_. They had seen him like that very few times and either of them wanted to be the targets of his fury. "You could have killed yourselves going at that speed!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Lavi growled and whirled around, leaving the club and going to their room, slamming the door closed.

Oh. So that was it. He was right. Allen bolted right after him, opening the door.

"Babe." He climbed on the bed and cupped his face.

"Oh. So you've figured it out?" He tried to free his face, but the DJ didn't let him, tightening his grip on his chin. "I seriously thought that you of all people would be more aware of the danger of going too fast in a car! Fuck Allen!" He pressed the back of his hands on his eye.

"I…"

"Shut it! I don't want to hear it! What were you thinking? You cut down the time to get from Liverpool to here for about an hour! Did you think I'd be happy to know that the person I love the most had done such a stupid thing?" He was yelling now. "What if you had an accident? Where would I have to be now? Sitting on the waiting room and bawling my eyes out? I didn't get mad at you for Pimlico because I knew that you knew what you were doing, but driving is not always safe. I don't know what I'd do without you, can't you see that? You've given me a life that I had only been able to _dream_ about and…" He shook his head angrily. "I don't want to worry about you doing something so stupid that could separate us forever before it's time!"

Allen didn't know what to say. He didn't think Lavi would be this mad just because of speeding a bit too much. He did understand why everyone was mad that _him_ of all people, did that. They all had seen him after the accident, they all helped nurse him back to health, they all had been there for him and him not caring about his safety drove them mad. Just like Lavi, they had no problem with him getting in fights because they were very aware that he could take pretty much everyone head-on but while driving a million things could go wrong, and he often forgot that. Only when it rained he was wary of even taking the car.

"I'm sorry!" He cried out loud, his hands moving to the ginger's shoulders. "I know I should know better, I know y'all get mad at me when I do stupid things like that, but I can't help it. I couldn't! I wanted to see you so bad! And I wanted to get here before you went to sleep!" He rested his forehead on his chest, fisting his shirt. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again, I swear. Just don't be mad. Don't make me sleep somewhere else." He begged.

Lavi frowned and sighed: he wanted to stay mad at him a bit more, make him work for it, but those silver eyes were looking at him with so much worry and love and sadness that he could only bend and kiss his head. "You promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die." He shuffled on his knees and snuggled next to him. "I missed you so much all I could think of was seeing you." Allen mumbled, his cheeks taking a cute pink colour.

"I missed you too." Lavi smiled: he was still a bit upset with him, but being able to see him, to touch him and kiss him and hold him after almost a month was just sending the bad thoughts to the back of his mind. "Get changed, yeah?" Allen nodded and stood up to fish his pyjama pants from his drawer as Lavi did the same.

Once they both were undercovers, Allen quickly curled around him, tucking his head under Lavi's chin and nuzzling his neck. "Did something happen?"

"Not really. Just Tyki and Link, but nothing out of the ordinary. No one dares to say anything mean to me or Mimi, Tora scared them off. And you, too, I think." He smiled against the white mop of hair. "Let's talk tomorrow, yeah? I'm exhausted."

"Of course bunny." He kissed him on the lips and settled back down. "I love you." The ginger only hummed in reply before squeezing his side.

It didn't take long before Lavi was asleep and Allen smiled against him: he really had grown used to having his lover holding him like this when they were sleeping. He had felt alone those weeks apart and the only consolation he had was that Lavi was feeling like him.

"Good night sweetheart."

* * *

"Alright kids, remember we are opening back tomorrow." Neah said to all of his children and in-laws.

There was a chorus of 'yes' 'sure' and 'okay's as everyone replied. They had closed for three weeks and they had scattered over the world: Tricia, Sheryl, Tyki and Link had gone to Portugal. Wisely and Nalei to India to meet his aunt. Fiidora, Toraido, Maashima and Skinn had decided to visit Russia, the rest didn't know for what reason if there was one. Road and Maitora had stayed for the first two weeks in London at the elder's house and they'd joined the four in Portugal for the last week. Lulu and Mimi had decided to go to Norway. The twins had gone with Krory to Romania so the twins could meet his boyfriend's grandfather. Allen and Lavi had decided to go to Liverpool first so Lavi could meet Mother, a woman that helped Cross out back in the day and someone Allen held dear to his heart, then Ireland to visit Cross at his hometown and then Australia. They had also stopped in France to visit Lavi's grandfather, whom he had met back in Christmas.

The man was strict and cold as fuck, but Allen had seen how his expression had softened when they approached him and Lavi hugged him, dropping on his knees. The old man had seemed wary of him and his looks, but by the end of his three-day visit during the previous Christmas he had warmed up to the albino when he saw how much his grandson laughed around him and how much he was cared for, he didn't need to worry about him being unhappy and depressed as he had been a few months back.

They spent the day cleaning and putting everything back into place, each to their station with the three bouncers, Mai and Wisely helping them around.

"Hey bunny." Allen sat down on a stool in front of him and Lulu.

"Hey." He smiled at him. "Are you done already?"

"Yeah. Wise helped me sort all the CD's and wires." He replied and took a glass and the first bottle of scotch he spotted, pouring himself a glass.

"You better be washing that, Al." Lulu pointed out.

"Of course!" He grinned before sipping it. Lavi shook his head before snatching the bottle out of his reach. "Hey!"

"Sorry, but we still need that for tomorrow." Allen pouted at him. "Will I make it better if I give you a kiss?"

"You shouldn't even ask this." The ginger chuckled and kissed him on the lips, moaning low on his throat when Allen forced his tongue in his mouth. "Hm… Much better." He replied, licking his lips. "Do you want to sleep here or at my house?"

"Your house sounds awesome." He kissed his nose before putting a few more bottles in their place.

Allen smiled behind his glass. He was going to do it. He was going to ask him today.

A couple of hours later, everyone was on the parking lot as all of them had decided to leave to their houses for the night before reopening.

As soon as they arrived, Lavi went to take a shower as Allen made a quick dinner for them, consisting of salad with smoked salmon.

By the time he had served them, Lavi was coming down the stairs, clad in his pyjamas and a towel around his neck, his ginger hair falling on his eyes in a way Allen was not used seeing, since Lavi usually pushed it back with a hair clip or a bandana or whatever he had around that would serve his purpose of not getting hair in his eyes.

His eye patch was also missing, which Allen would say was his greatest accomplishment in their year-and-something of dating. He had been reluctant at first and it was usually him who would untie it for the ginger, placing a small kiss there for the first few weeks. After a couple of months Lavi would do it himself, but just occasionally. After the beating, though, he had started to do it more often until it came to the point that he would just take it off when they were alone indoors. He would usually leave it next to their keys by the door and wouldn't touch it until they got out of the house again or people came by.

"You really look good with your hair down." He pointed out as they sat down.

"Yeah?" Allen hummed in agreement as he picked the olives off his boyfriend's plate. "I guess I'll wear it this way more often, then."

"I'd like that. But not at work, I don't want people flirting with you."

"As if I had eyes for anyone who isn't you." Lavi replied, rolling his eyes and Allen grinned before kissing his cheek.

They ate in silence, knees brushing from time to time until they finished and sat down on the sofa, Allen quickly molding his body against his lover's.

"I want to ask you something." Allen suddenly mumbled.

"Hm? What is it?" The albino didn't reply immediately, instead he occupied himself with the hem of the shirt, fumbling and pulling on a loose thread. "Sweetheart? Is there something wrong?" The DJ shook his head. "Alright, then what?"

"I know we talked about it a few months back and we said to wait but… Would you move in with me now?" He questioned, not meeting his eyes. "We've hit the one-year mark now and we are practically together all the time so I thought that maybe… Now you'd be fine with us living together? I mean, I can wait but… You know what? Forget I asked, I should have waited a bit more, I'm just impatient and I should think things more thoroughly…"

Lavi chuckled and kissed the star on his forehead. "You are rambling." That made Allen shut his mouth and look up at him. "And don't decide things for me, yeah? I'm moving in, of course I am. I love you too much to not to and, as you said, we are always together."

"Really? You want to?" He looked up at him.

"Didn't I tell you already? I plan to spend the rest of my life with you, love. Of course I want to move in with you! Nothing would ever make me happier than this... Besides marrying you, of course."

Marriage? Lavi wanted to marry him? Did he really love him that much? "Marry?"

The ginger smiled and kissed him on the lips, sweetly, his tongue gently mapping his mouth. "Yeah, marry. Unless you don't want to?"

Allen shrugged. "I had never really put too much thought into it, but I would do it if you wanted to."

"That would make me the happiest man alive. But in a few years, yeah?" The albino nodded.

"Of course." He grinned and hugged him "God, I love you so much."

Lavi squeezed him. "I love you too, Allen. You are the best thing that ever happened to me." The albino purred and kissed his throat before nuzzling it. "Bedroom?" He hummed and Lavi scooped him up; working at the club had a great side-effect: he was getting stronger. Not as much as Tora, Maa, Skinn or Allen himself, but enough to carry him around.

Once there he left him on the bed and kissed his cheek before giving him his pyjamas. Allen cuddled against him again and the ginger pressed a kiss on his head.

"I'll tell Yuu tomorrow, I guess." Lavi told him.

"Yeah. You'll have to arrange the papers, right?" The elder nodded. "He… He won't be against it, will he?" He bit his lip: sure, he didn't like the Japanese but he was an important part of Lavi's life and if he were to be against it... He didn't think Lavi would listen to him in that regard, but one could never tell.

"Nah babe. He'll play the part, just like you'll do because that's how you two work. He doesn't hate you, you know that. You two are too similar and that's why you clash so much, but he likes you or else he wouldn't have let you by my side."

"As if he could stop me." Allen mumbled already half asleep.

"Yeah, yeah. Now hush and sleep. Good night."

"Good night." He sighed and burrowed further into Lavi's warmth and tangling their legs before he started to fall asleep.

The redhead stayed awake a bit longer, his fingers running through the white mane. He really couldn't be happier right now: he had a job he loved, a great pack of friends and the best lover he could have ever hoped for and now he'd truly have a place to call _home_. He could ask Allen if he wanted to go _home_ instead of 'your house'. He felt slightly sad because he wouldn't be living with his best friend anymore, but still the happiness overshadowed it.

He grabbed his cellphone and opened their WhatsApp group and texted: _How does brunch sound for tomorrow? We have something to tell you, nothing bad, don't worry._

Lena-lady: _Sounds good for me._

Nalei: _Wise and I are also coming._

Alma: _Count me in too._

_Yuu, are you coming or not?_

Yuu-chan: _Yeah, whatever. And stop fucking texting at 3am._

Lavi snickered before switching the device to flight mode and leaving it on the nightstand, cuddling his lover closer.

* * *

"So, what's that so important thing you had to tell us?" Alma questioned once they had food in front of them and that made everyone look up at them.

"Right to the chase, huh?" Allen mused.

"What can I say? I'm a curious creature." He replied.

"C'mon, don't stall, what is it? I've been thinking about it non-stop since you sent that message!" Lena whinned.

"Alright, alright." The ginger said as he grabbed his boyfriend's hand. "I'm moving in with him."

Silence fell over the table before Lenalee squealed and hugged them both, Nalei and Alma quickly joining in the hug. Once they freed them Wisely only grinned.

"You already knew, right?" Lavi sighed.

"Yeah. He told us a couple of weeks ago." Because of course Allen did, they really had near to no privacy between them, but he was growing used to it and he didn't really mind it.

Kanda had yet to say anything, but when Lavi smiled sheepishly at him, he glared at the DJ. "Listen here moyashi, if you so much as think of hurting him, I'll make your life a sorry one."

"Didn't I tell you already that I would never hurt him, Bakanda?" Allen growled back as his arm circled his boyfriend protectively.

"You better don't." The ginger chuckled and kissed Allen on the temple before hugging his best friend.

"He won't hurt me Yuu, stop being so harsh." He mumbled to him and the Japanese nodded shortly. "You okay with it?"

"Of course. That's what you wanted right? To go live with him?" Lavi nodded. "Well, then I've got nothing to say."

The elder kissed his cheek before ducking away and wrapping an arm around Allen's shoulders as he started to argue with Wisely about this and that.

* * *

A couple of days later Cross and Tyki had volunteered to help them move everything from the condo to Allen's… no, to _their_ house.

Lavi and Tyki were inside starting to unpack as the other two brought the last of the boxes. "You are happy." Cross pointed out, stating the obvious.

"Of course I am! We are living together from now on! He can call it his home too!" He was beaming like a kid in a candy store.

"I'm glad to see you've finally found the happiness you deserve, son." He messed his hair, smiling.

"And I'm happy you found yours. Also Tyki." He kissed his cheek before hugging him. "I'm scared." He mumbled.

"Hm? Of what?" They sat down on the stairs, a heavy arm wrapped around lithe shoulders.

"Messing up." He mumbled, playing with a patch of grass at his feet. "I don't want to lose him. Ever. I don't know what I'd do if he left me because I hurt him somehow."

Cross sighed before squeezing him to his side. "Listen here and listen good, ok? That man in there loves you to no end, anyone can tell you that. And for him to stop loving you? You'd have to mess real bad and if you want my opinion, the only thing he would never forgive you, would be if you cheated on him."

"I'd never cheat on him!" Allen exclaimed, offended.

"You better don't, kitten." Lavi stepped behind them and sat down next to him, kissing his head and hugging him. "But he's right, you know? I'd forgive anything you did, anything but cheating."

"I'd never do that to you! You are too important for me to even _think_ of treating you like that." He frowned at him and Lavi chuckled, smiling at Cross when he stood up and went inside with Tyki.

"Right back at you, love." He kissed him on the mouth, his hands resting at the cool steps as Allen's cupped his face.

When they split up the albino beamed before standing up and yanking him to his feet. "I know I've told you this before but... you really are the best thing that ever happened to me. I feel truly blessed to have you by my side." He told the barman.

"Aw Allen…" He hugged him tightly, nuzzling his hair. "I feel the same way, you know? You have made me the happiest I have ever been." He hugged him and kissed his forehead, his fingers playing with the matching bracelet on his lover's wrist.

"Hey _pombinhos_ , get the hell back inside and help us with _your_ stuff instead of slacking off." Tyki yelled from the balcony.

Allen looked up and glared at him. "I'll remind you of that when you and Link move in together!" He hollered, effectively shutting the Portuguese up. "Heh, mentioning them together always works."

"You are evil." He started to go into the house, the DJ following suit saying that Tyki had it coming for being an ass or something along those lines as the Southerner yelled back something.

Lavi laughed and thought that this, this right there, was life to its fullest and that he'd never give it up to anybody or anything. This was everything he had ever wanted, or more and if he had to get on his knees and pray to someone above to be able to keep, he'd do it in a split second.

"Babe, what are you doing? C'mon!" Allen tugged him and kissed him on the lips. "Welcome home, Lavi." The albino whispered against them, beaming before going to help Tyki with a heavy box. He just stood there, watching them as he fished his phone and called his grandfather to tell him the good news.


End file.
